# Psychiatric Morbidity Among Youth Patients at Nakuru County Referral and Teaching Hospital in Kenya: A Cross-Sectional Study

## TL;DR

This study found that nearly half of youth patients at a Kenyan hospital had psychiatric issues, with marital and employment status linked to mental health risks.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into psychiatric morbidity among youth in Kenya and identifies key demographic factors associated with mental health risks.

## Key findings

- 46.5% of youth patients aged 18–35 had psychiatric morbidity.
- Single and widowed individuals had significantly higher odds of psychiatric illness compared to married individuals.
- Marital and employment status were statistically significant predictors of psychiatric morbidity.

## Abstract

There is a decreased life span of 10 – 15 years in persons with psychiatric illnesses in contrast with the public population; hence interventions on first onset may improve some end results. This article explores the psychiatric morbidity among youth patients of age group 18 – 35 years. The study implemented a cross-sectional descriptive design. The study was carried out at Nakuru County Referral and Teaching Hospital in Kenya: 385 youth patients were sampled for this study using simple random sampling. There were more female (55.3%) participants compared to male (44.7%). Marital status and employment status were found to have a statistically significant association with psychiatric morbidity. The singles (p = .024) had an OR (4.771) higher chance of having a psychiatric morbidity as compared to the married. On the other hand, those who were widow/widower (p = .016) had an OR (5.650) times of developing a mental illness compared to the married. In conclusion, the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity among youth outpatients of the age bracket 18 – 35 years at Nakuru County Referral and Teaching Hospital stands at 46.5%. Marital status and employment status were noted to have a statistically significant link with psychiatric morbidity. Regular psychological assessments should be conducted as part of treatment evaluations for patients to get other more interventions necessary for them, bettering their health outcome broadly.