Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence of various mental illnesses in patients reporting to DHQ Ghizer, Gilgit Baltistan and examine their associated risk factors, along with suicidal ideations and suicidal attempts.
Methodology: The study included 749 individuals seeking attention for psychiatric disorders at Ghizer-DHQ Hospital. They were assessed based on the guidelines provided by the International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10).
Results: Out of 749 individuals, 47.3% received a diagnosis of depressive episode, 12.7% were diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and 8.9% with recurrent depressive disorder. We found 154 cases had a positive family history of psychiatric illness followed by death of loved ones. Individuals who confirmed suicidal ideations were 268, while about 127 were those who had attempted suicide previously.
Conclusion: Significant number of patients had anxiety and depression. The results highligh the need for holistic and individualized approaches to mental health care.

Key words: Mental illnesses, depressive disorder, suicide.