Abstract
Background: The causes of mental health problems and ethnic variation are poorlyunderstood. The main objective of the study was to find out about psychiatricdiseases which frequently occur in Western Nepal for which hospitalization isrequired. The specific objective was to research about theeconomic condition ofthe psychiatric patients and the prevalence of common psychiatric disorderwitnessed among hospitalized patients who belong to diverse ethnic and culturalgroups in Western Nepal. Materials and Methods: It was a cross sectional studywhich was conducted in between 1st October 2009 and 31th March 2010 between at Manipalteaching hospital, Pokhara, Nepal. Odds ratios and adjusted odds ratio andtheir 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated. p < 0.05 wasconsidered as statistically significant. Results: Out of 240 cases the commonestcases of psychiatric disorders include Schizophrenia, Schizotypal and DelusionDisorders 36.3%, Mood Disorders 27.9%, Neurotic, stress-related and somatoformdisorders 15.8%. Study based on ethnicity revealed that the majority ofpatients were Dalit [n= 72] followed by Brahmin [n = 66], Chettri [n = 46],Newar [n = 19], Gurung [n = 17], others [n = 13] and Magar and Pun [n = 7].Most of the patients were <40yrs [n=191] unemployed [n=199], monthly familyincome <10000 NPR/month [n= 187], students [n = 102] housewives [n = 74,], job holders [n= 17]. Study showed that Mental and Behavioural disorder due toPsychoactive Substance abuse, Schizophrenia, Schizotypal and Delusion DisordersMood (Affective) Disorders, Neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorderswere prevalent among unemployed patients [OR 8.170(CI 1.062, 62.853)], [OR3.033(CI 1.334, 6.897)], [OR 0.413(CI 0.199, 0.856)[OR 0.228(CI 0.089,0.583)]as compared to employed patients(p=0.001). Conclusion: Schizophrenia was the commonestpsychiatric disorder among the low socio-economic class of like Dalits. The study showed that culture based differences concerning mental health is furthermediated by poverty, unemployment and dearth of family income which leads tohigh prevalence of psychiatric illness among Nepalese population. Based on thefinding of the study, interventions should target these factors to minimise theload of various psychiatric illness among poor Dalit Nepalese population.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/nje.v4i1.10132Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 2014;4 (1): 306-315Keywords:Culture, Ethnicity,Nepal, Psychiatry
Highlights
The causes of mental health problems and ethnic variation are poorly understood[1]
The specific objective was to research about the eISSN 2091-0800 economic condition of the psychiatric patients and the prevalence of common psychiatric disorder witnessed among hospitalized patients who belong to diverse ethnic and cultural groups in Western Nepal
Study showed that Mental and Behavioural disorder due to Psychoactive Substance abuse, Schizophrenia, Schizotypal and Delusion Disorders Mood (Affective) Disorders, Neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders were prevalent among unemployed patients [OR 8.170(CI 1.062, 62.853)], [OR 3.033(CI 1.334, 6.897)], [OR 0.413(CI 0.199, 0.856)[OR 0.228(CI 0.089, 0.583)]as compared to employed patients(p=0.001)
Summary
The causes of mental health problems and ethnic variation are poorly understood[1]. From Income point of view, Nepal is a poor developing country which is situated in South East Asia[2]. The main source of income of Nepalese people is agriculture. Most parts of Nepal are occupied by mountainous and hills where people don’t have good access to health care facilities. Many health related researches that have been undertaken in Nepal are mainly about the prevalence of mental illnesses. The causes of mental health problems and ethnic variation are poorly understood. The main objective of the study was to find out about psychiatric diseases which frequently occur in Western Nepal for which hospitalization is required. The specific objective was to research about the eISSN 2091-0800 economic condition of the psychiatric patients and the prevalence of common psychiatric disorder witnessed among hospitalized patients who belong to diverse ethnic and cultural groups in Western Nepal
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