TREATED PSYCHIATRIC MORBIDITY IN A RAPIDLY DEVELOPING-SOCIETY

Objective: To study the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of treated psychiatric patients in a rapidly developing Arab society a s well as the contribution of sociocultural factors to the observed tr ends. Design: Retrospective study of consecutive first time admissions over a 2-year period. Setting: Medical wards of Al-Ain District Gener al Hospital, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates. Subjects: 857 patients aged 1 2-80 years who were admitted into psychiatric beds (located in medi cal wards) over a 2-year period. Diagnostic system: Ninth revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9), 1978. Results: A total of 857 first-time admissions consisting of 60.5% males and 39.5 % females was studied. The majority 143.3%) were United Arab Emirates (UAE) nationals, followed by other Arabs (36.1%) while non-Arabs const ituted 20.6% of the sample. The two main diagnostic categories were af fective psychosis (23.3%) and schizophrenia (19.3%). Alcohol and drug dependence accounted for 9.8% and hysteria was diagnosed in 8.6% of th e patients. The majority (83.4%) were young persons below 40 years of age and only 10.6% were admitted through law enforcement agencies. A b reakdown of diagnostic groups in relation to nationality showed signif icant differences in relation to hysteria (p < 0.0001), other neuroses (p < 0.05), alcohol and drug dependence (p < 0.0001) in all of which UAE nationals predominate; non-fatal deliberate self harm (p < 0.0001) was more common amongst UAE nationals and non-Arabs; and puerperal ps ychosis (p < 0.0005) which occurred predominantly in other Arab women. Conclusions: Patients falling within the various nosological groups o f the International Classification of Diseases were represented amongs t the psychiatric in-patients of this facility. Sociocultural factors play an important role in determining the nature of psychiatric morbid ity as well as the pattern of utilization of mental health facilities in the community, and recognition of this fact should be of strategic importance in future mental health care planning.