Tertiary care psychiatry in Zaire: DSM-III in the developing world.

Abstract

In this sample of eighty consecutive admissions to the Centre-Neuro-Psycho-Pathologique (CNPP) of Kinshasa, 81% were given a DSM-III diagnosis. This demonstrates that the DSM-III is a useful tool for psychiatric research in developing sub-saharan Africa. Schizophrenia, schizophreniform psychoses, and affective disorders appeared in their familiar forms. Zairois patients tended to present with complaints of insomnia, agitation and pressured speech. The most striking observations were the relative paucity of depressed mood, self-reproach, and suicidal ideation in patients with major depression. Four cases of acute transient psychosis were noted.