Family History of Psychiatric Illness Among the Individuals With Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders

Abstract

Background: Genetic factors are considered to be more influential than environmental factors in the development of schizophrenia. We aimed to find out the history of psychiatric illnesses among the first and second degree relatives as well as the sociodemographic factors of individuals with schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders attending in the outpatient department of a tertiary care psychiatric hospital. Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out among the individuals with schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders attended at the outpatient department of National Institute of Mental Health, Dhaka, during October, 2020 – March, 2021. Convenient sampling technique was applied. After having the consent of the individuals with the disorder or their guardians, sociodemographic and other information were collected by a predetermined semi-structured questionnaire through face-to-face interview. To determine the history of psychiatric illness among the first and second degree relatives, the family history method was followed. Completed data of 153 respondents were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 24. p £.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 29.86±12.784. Most of the respondents were male (52.3%), Muslim (94.8%), unmarried (46.4%), unemployed (31.4%), and living in rural areas (49.7%). Regarding educational status, majority (32.0%) belonged to the secondary level of education (class VI – Secondary School Certificate). About one-third (32.0%) of the respondents had family history of psychiatric illness. The correlation of family history of psychiatric illness with gender (p = .209) and marital status (p = .266) was not statistically significant. Conclusion: About one-third of the individuals with schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders had family history of psychiatric illness. J Dhaka Med Coll. 2022; 31(1) : 86-92