Background: Psychiatric illnesses refer to conditions where the symptoms are in the mental functions of the individual and manifest themselves in the personality or the way we interact with the environment. In 2019, one in eight people worldwide had a mental disorder and one in five in conflict zones. In low-income countries, health care systems are not able to meet mental health needs. In Burundi, 4% of the population suffer from acute psychosis, 4.6% from depressive disorders, 12.3% from mania and 4.5% from schizophrenia. Disoriented psychiatric patients are sometimes seen wandering freely in the streets of Bujumbura. Faced with this lack of care, a study on the predictive factors of psychiatric illnesses in Burundi would contribute to the strategic planning of prevention activities. The objective of this study was to identify factors associated with psychiatric illness at the Kamenge Neuropsychiatric Center.

Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted at the neuropsychiatric center on patients aged 10 years or older who were seen in medical consultations.

Results: The prevalence of psychiatric illness was 63.1% (57.44-68.59); the median age was 30 years (23-39); the sex ratio (M/F) was 1.5. In multivariate analysis, factors associated with psychiatric illness were male gender [adjusted OR= 2.33 (1.23-4.40)], illicit drug use [adjusted OR=7.85 (2.09-29.46)], family history of psychiatric illness [adjusted OR=5.83 (1.8-16, 65)], childhood maltreatment [adjusted OR=5.48 (1.8-16.65)], loss of a dear person [adjusted OR=4.01 (1.54-10.45)], family conflict [adjusted OR=2.67 (1.0-7.09)] as risk factors and urban area [adjusted OR=0.114 (0.05-0.23)] as a protective factor.

Conclusion: This study identified factors associated with the prevalence of psychiatric illnesses. The results of this study are useful to guide prevention and promotion strategies in mental health.