Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Psychiatry 1735-4587 11 2 2016 06 01 87 98 EN Mohammad Reza Mohammadi Psychiatry and Psychology Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Nastaran Ahmadi Psychiatry and Psychology Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IranYazd Cardiovascular Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran Maryam Salmanian Psychiatry and Psychology Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Fatemeh Asadian- koohestani Psychiatry and Psychology Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Ahmad Ghanizadeh Research Center for Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran Ali Alavi Research Center for Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran Ayyoub Malek Clinical Psychiatry Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran Saeed Dastgiri Tabriz Health Services Management Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran Fatemeh Moharreri Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Paria Hebrani Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Soroor Arman Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran Javad Khoshhal Dastjerdi Department of Geography, Geographic Sciences and Planning Faculty, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran Ali Motavallian Deputy of Research, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2016 05 30 2016 05 30 Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the epidemiology of psychiatric disorders in ‎children and adolescents in five provinces of Iran: Tehran, Shiraz, Isfahan, Tabriz and Mashhad.‎ Method: In the present study, we selected 9,636 children and adolescents aged 6-18 years through ‎multistage cluster random sampling method from Tehran, Shiraz, Isfahan, Tabriz and Mashhad. ‎We instructed the clinical psychologists to complete the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire ‎‎(SDQ) for the participants, and those who received a high score on SDQ, completed the Persian ‎version of Kiddie-SADS-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL). We used descriptive ‎analysis and 95% confidence interval to investigate the relationship between scores of the K-‎SADS questionnaire and demographic factors‏. ‏We used one-way ANOVA to test the significant ‎differences among the disorders according to sex, age and province of residence.‎‎ Results: Based on the results, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) (4.45%) had the highest prevalence of psychiatric ‎disorders in the five provinces and substance abuse and alcohol abuse (0%) had the lowest ‎prevalence. In addition, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) had the most ‎prevalence in boys (5.03%) and ODD had the most prevalence in ‎girls (4.05%). Among the three age groups, 6 to 9 year olds had the highest rates of ADHD ‎‎(5.69%); 10 to 14 and 15 to 18 year olds had the highest rates of ODD (4.32% and 4.37% ‎respectively). Among the five provinces, Tehran and Mashhad allocated the highest rates of ODD; Isfahan and Shiraz had the highest rates of ADHD; and Tabriz had the highest rates of social phobia.‎ Conclusion: The current study revealed that the overall frequency of psychiatric disorders based on Kiddie-‎SADS-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL) was higher than a similar study. Moreover, in ‎this study, among the five provinces, Tehran and Mashhad allocated the highest rates of ODD; Isfahan and Shiraz had the highest rates of ADHD; and Tabriz had the highest rates of social phobia. Therefore, these percentage ‎of psychiatric disorders in Iran lead us toward a greater use of consultation and mental health ‎services‏. https://ijps.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijps/article/view/704 https://ijps.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijps/article/download/704/556