The aim of the study was to estimate prevalence rates of psychiatric and substance use disorders in male and female prisoners on admission to prison in the north of France and compare the frequency of these disorders to the general population.

This cross-sectional survey on Mental Health in the Prison Population (MHPP), conducted between March 2014 and April 2017, interviewed 653 randomly selected men and women who had recently been committed to the French general population prison system in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments.

The prevalence rates were then compared with data from the Mental Health in the General Population (MHGP) survey, a general population survey in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments. A control sample was taken from the MHGP survey with a ratio of one case (MHPP) to three controls (MHGP) matching on age and sex.

Inclusion Criteria: consecutively committed people in eight of the nine remand prisons of Nord and Pas-de-Calais in France

inclusion- (a) provide informed consent to participate in the survey, (b) speak French, (c) aged 18 years or older, (d) free of any mental or psychological incapacity to participate due to acute decompensation of a psychiatric disorder or severe substance withdrawal (i.e., health condition requiring emergency hospitalization), and (e) had been incarcerated for less than 72 h (sentenced or on remand)

Exclusion Criteria:(a) no informed consent to participate in the survey, (b)do not speak French, (c) aged under18 years (d) with any mental or psychological incapacity to participate due to acute decompensation of a psychiatric disorder or severe substance withdrawal (i.e., health condition requiring emergency hospitalization), and (e) had been incarcerated for less than 72 h (sentenced or on remand)

-

consecutively committed people in eight of the nine remand prisons of Nord and Pas-de-Calais in France