Modeling the Spatial Distribution of Mood Disorders in Isfahan Province, Iran

Background and aims: Physical and social environments are effective on personality traits. What is in the framework of medical geography, is physical environment that can have positive effect on the human psyche. It can also have negative effects whose investigation is in the field of medical geographers. Methods: The present study is a descriptive analytical research that discusses the modeling of the vulnerability of mood disorders (depression, bipolar) by using meta-ranking PROMETHEE, and ArcGIS software to study climatic parameters on the spatial distribution of these disorders in Isfahan Province from 2007 to 2011. Results: The prevalence of mood disorders (depression and bipolar disorder) in all the province had a direct correlation with each other. Isfahan, Lenjan, and Shahin Shahr were very high-risk cities and Nain and Semirom were low-risk cities. The prevalence and incidence of these disorders have a direct correlation with temperature, precipitation and humidity. There was no significant correlation between sunshine hours and incidence of mood disorders in Isfahan province. The percentage of incidence of these disorders was almost twice higher in men than women. Conclusion: Climatic parameters can be one of those factors that are effective in incidence and increasing of mood disorders (depression, bipolar). This issue highlights the need for more study and research in this field.