Prevalence and correlates of neurocognitive impairment and psychiatric disorders among schoolchildren in Wakiso District, Uganda: a cross-sectional study

Background: There is limited data on the burden of mental disorders among ‘healthy’ children in Africa. We examined prevalence and correlates neurocognitive psychiatric schoolchildren Uganda. Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled 322 aged 5-17years Wakiso, Uganda. assessed for impairment using Kaufmann-Assessment-Battery, (major-depressive-disorder (MDD), attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder (ADHD), generalised-anxiety-disorder (GAD), substance-use-disorder (SUD)) parent version Child Adolescent Symptom Inventory-5, Youth Inventory-4R Self Report. Prevalence risk factors were determined percentages logistic regression. Results: Twenty-five participants (8%) had impairment. Nineteen (5.9%) MDD, nine (2.8%) ADHD, seven (2.2%) GAD, 14 (8.6%) SUD; 30 (9.3%) any disorder. None associated with disorders. Conclusions: The unexpectedly high this general population warrants targeted screening those at risk, treatment affected. Further, future studies should extensively investigate that underlie identified similar populations.