Prevalence and pattern of psychiatric disorders among dermatological patients

Abstract

Background Psychiatric disorders are common among patients with a skin disease.Objective The purpose of this study was to find out the intensity of psychiatric morbidity andto see the pattern of psychiatric ailments in dermatological patients.Patients and methods Three hundred and twelve randomly-selected patients of 15-60 yearsfrom the out-patient, dermatology department of Bahawal-Victoria Hospital/Quaid-e-AzamMedical College, Bahawalpur, were included in the study. The study was done in two stages.In the 1st stage, General Health Questionnairre-12 (GHQ-12) Urdu version was used forscreening purpose. In the 2nd stage, Psychiatric Assessment Schedule (PAS) Urdu versionwas administered to those who were found to be positive for psychiatric caseness in stage 1.Results According to GHQ-12 screening, 122 out of 312 patients (39.1%) were positive forpsychiatric caseness; the prevalence was slightly higher in females (58/142; 40.8%) ascompared to males ( 64/170; 37.6%). The pattern of psychiatric ailments detected by PASwas as follows: major depressive illness in 17.3% (54/312) patients, generalized anxietydisorder in 7.6% (24), mixed anxiety and depression state in 11.2% (35) and dysthymia in1.7% (6) of the 312 patients. None of the patients was found to be suffering from panicdisorder.Conclusion In conclusion, psychiatric co-morbidity is very common (39.1%) amongdermatological patients as compared to the general population or clinics of primary carephysicians. If a therapist is well aware of detection and management of these co-morbidconditions, better quality of care can be further assured