Evidence mapPaperPMID 42325432Full record

ArticleGlobal mental health (Cambridge, England)2026

Prevalence and regional disparities in probable mental health conditions among persons aged 10 years and older in Uganda: Evidence from the 2024 National Population and Housing Census.

Herbert Elvis Ainamani, Joseph Namanya, Nolbert Gumusiriza, Herbert Izo Ninsiima, Sarah M Arinaitwe, Ronald Bahati, Godfrey Zari Rukundo

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Article in Global mental health (Cambridge, England), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

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7 authors.

Herbert Elvis AinamaniDepartment of Psychiatry, Kabale University School of Medicine, Uganda.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7290-7232
Joseph NamanyaDepartment of Statistical Methods and Actuarial Science, Makerere University College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Uganda.
Nolbert GumusirizaDepartment of Psychiatry, Kabale University School of Medicine, Uganda.
Herbert Izo NinsiimaDepartment of Human Pysiology, Kabale University School of Medicine, Uganda.
Sarah M ArinaitweDepartment of Child and Child care and development, HOPE Partners-Africa, Uganda.
Ronald BahatiDepartment of Psychology, Kyambogo University, Uganda.
Godfrey Zari RukundoDepartment of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, McMaster University, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Despite the growing global burden of mental health conditions, nationally representative data in low- and middle-income countries remain limited. Using data from the 2024 Uganda National Population and Housing Census, this study examined the prevalence and distribution of probable mental health conditions among persons aged 10 years and older in Uganda, while assessing variations by sex, place of residence and sub-region. We conducted a descriptive secondary analysis of publicly available census tabulations (2024 Volume I, Section 6.5). The analytic population comprised 31,389,721 individuals aged 10 years and older. Mental health outcomes were based on self-reported symptoms synthesised by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics into six indicators of probable mental health conditions, such as general psychological distress, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, psychosis and suicidality, rather than clinical diagnoses. Among persons aged 10 years and older, 3,773,915 (12.0%) reported probable general psychological distress. Probable depressive condition affected 2,444,272 (7.8%), followed by probable bipolar condition 1,262,088 (4.0%) and probable anxiety condition 1,201,182 (3.8%). Higher prevalence was observed among females and rural residents. Substantial sub-regional variation was observed across all outcomes, with the prevalence of general psychological distress ranging from ~8% in Madi, Sebei and Ankole to over 16% in Teso. The 2024 census suggests a substantial and uneven distribution of probable mental health conditions in Uganda and underscores the need for geographically targeted, equity-oriented mental health strategies, as well as stronger integration of mental health into primary healthcare systems.

Indexed as

mental health conditionspopulation censuspsychological distresssociodemographic disparitiesUganda

Identifiers

PMID42325432
PMCPMC13279965

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.