Report on a Population Survey of Mental Retardation in Pakistan

Abstract

Very few studies on the prevalence of mental retardation in the developing countries are available. The reasons are not far to seek: lack of financial support , overwhelming medical problems , and inade quacy of psychometric tests . A figure of 3% to 5% is generally citedfor the prevalence in Western countries, and it is fair to assume that the rate cannot be lower than that in the developing countries. Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre was engaged in a project on the etiology of mental retardation among outpatients of the hospital, and it became very tempting to undertake a field survey in Karachi. The cityTs estimated population of 4 million (1970) is divided into 1,400 electoral units. Government statisticians thought that they could identify 44 of these units that would statistically reflect the wide range of socio-economic levels and ethnic and linguistic characteristics of the cityTs population. We therefore embarked on a survey whose objectives were: (1) to determine the prevalence of mental retardation in the general population in Karachi; and (2) to identify mental retardation on the basis of developmental, organic, physical, social, and educational achievement criteria without the additional aid of psychometric tests.