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Introduction: In Pakistan, no study on mental health status of male prisoners has been done so far. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress in male Pakistani prisoners at an urban jail. Methods: This study was conducted on 100 male prisoners at District Jail Lahore, Pakistan. Basic demographic characteristics, past medical history, and history of substance abuse, child abuse and child labor were obtained. Presence of depression was assessed by a validated Urdu translation of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Mean BDI scores for categories of binary variables were compared with each other by applying independent samples t-test.

Results: The total prevalence of depression as per the BDI was 85%. 30% of prisoners had mild depression, 20% had moderate depression and 35% had severe depression. Prisoners with a history of substance abuse, childhood sexual abuse, chronic medical diseases and child labor were found to have significantly higher BDI scores. Conclusion: Pakistani male prisoners have a markedly high prevalence of depression leading to significant psychiatric morbidity. We suggest here, provision of psychological support along with depression management and rehabilitation therapies such as musical therapy among others as essential to reduce mental health problems in prison inmates.