The Beijing municipal health bureau is to conduct a survey of the mental health of the capital's residents to gain a clear picture of Beijingers' inner conditions, Tuesday's Beijing Daily reports.

Beijing Municipal Public Health Bureau (BMPHB) said the last survey was held in 1991, showing about 100,000 local people over the age of 15 suffered from serious mental disorders. The mentally retarded, drug-dependent and neurosis patients were not included in the figures.

To provide up-to-date information, the BMPHB will launch a year-long survey with face-to-face interviews of 50,000 residents by psychologists and professionals.

The randomly sampled residents will answer questions such as whether they have suffered memory loss in recent years or whether they have to take sleeping pills before going to bed.

Similar surveys are held every five years in other countries, but a lack of funds delayed the Beijing survey by eight years, said the BMPHB.
 
(People's Daily January 7, 2004)