Prevalence of Psychiatric Disorders in the Out Patient Clinic of a University Hospital- Focus on Conversion disorder- A cross- Sectional Study

Abstract

Abstract Background Common mental disorders are highly prevalent globally, affecting people across all regions of the world. Mental disorders are not only highly prevalent medical conditions but they are also highly disabling. Conversion disorders tend to be poorly understood and can be difficult to diagnose and distinguish from other psychiatric disorders that involve physical symptoms. Objectives This study was carried out to study the prevalence and frequency of different psychiatric disorders in a sample of Egyptian patients attending the outpatient clinic of the institute of psychiatry – Ain-Shams university hospital with a focus on hysteria, both conversion and dissociative type. Patients and Methods This case control observational study was started from December 2016 till December 2017. The subjects were selected from outpatient clinics of Institute of Psychiatry, Faculty of medicine, Ain Shams University. The first 1000 random patients who present to the above mentioned clinics were recruited. Patients were subjected to Arabic version of Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR Axis I Disorders. Results Our study reveals that the most common diagnosis was that of mood disorders (24.6%), followed by schizophrenia (23.4%). Somatoform disorders, of which conversion is a subcategory, came as the 5th most common diagnosis with (5.2%). Conclusion our study reveals that hysteria, in both conversion and dissociative disorders, is a surviving diagnosis, despite of the separation of both diagnoses into different diagnostic categories