THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Mental health still a concern in Serbia

London , England , Jun. 1 (UPI) -- Depression and post-traumatic stress disorder remain significant public health concerns in Serbia , an international research team said Tuesday.

American researchers, along with doctors from a university hospital in Belgrade and a district hospital in Laplje Selo, Kosovo, found almost half the people questioned had symptoms of depression and more than one in eight had symptoms of PTSD three years after the 1999 NATO campaign ended the ethnic conflict.

The researchers assessed the mental health status of 562 patients who visited hospital emergency departments. They questioning the patients'

exposure to traumatic events and their experiences with depression or PTSD.

They found that refugees and people residing in remote areas are particularly susceptible to suffering from mental health problems, according to an article published this week in the journal BMC Medicine.

Older patients, those with little social support, and those unemployed were considered more likely to have symptoms of depression. Those who had been a refugee longer than 30 days or living in remote Laplje Selo were at an increased risk of suffering PTSD.