Iranian specialist: Anxiety-related health problems on the rise

Tehran hosted the 32nd Congress of Iranian Psychiatric Association during Oct. 13-16.

The congress was attended by a number of acclaimed international psychiatrists including Prof. Norman Sartorius, a former director of the World Health Organization's Division of Mental Health, and a former president of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA).

Prof. Helen Hermann, the deputy head of WPA and Prof. Khalid Mufti, WPA’s zonal representative for Western and Central Asia as well as Armen Soghoyan and Afzal Javad, the members of WPA’s board of directors were also among the participants.

About 74 research papers were presented at the event — 24 in the form of speech and 50 as posters.

“The congress focused on sleep disorders, as growing number of citizens complain of sleep deprivations and illnesses associated with it,” said Dr. Ahmad Jalili, the head of Iranian Psychiatric Association, in an exclusive interview with Iran Daily.

He added various symposiums were held on the sidelines of the event to address the most prevalent psychological troubles and treatment-resistant problems.

“Psychology associated with social networking, gender identity disorders, military psychology and crisis, sexual health, treatment-resistant depression and social-mental disorders were among the topics brought up in symposiums,” he said.

Jalili said modern technology have led to the emergence of new psychological troubles.

He said people must be aware of such problems while further research is required in this respect.

“International congresses are essential to share knowledge with the most distinguished experts,” he said, adding such gatherings are appropriate for improving the mental health of people.

The specialist voiced concern over the increasing rate of psychological problems associated with electronic devices such as cell phones and Internet addiction.

“The use of such devices at midnight will increase the risk of sleep disorders,” he said.

Jalili said people often use over-the-counter sedatives to overcome sleep disorders, which can have adverse effects.

The specialist also warned about the increasing rate of disorders resulting from anxiety among Iranians.

“According to statistics, one out of four Iranians, which is more than 18 million, suffer from a type of mental disorder and need immediate medical attention,” he said, adding treatment-resistance depression — a type of anxiety disorder — is also one of the common mental disorders among Iranians.

The specialist explained between 30 and 35 percent of patients suffering from depression never respond to medicines and about 15 percent experience depression relapse after several rounds of treatment.

He noted, however, depression is curable if diagnosed promptly.

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