psychopathology of duodenal ulcer compared with functional dyspepsia: a case control study

This is a prospective study of the psychiatric morbidity in 80 patients with duodenal ulcer, 80 with functional dyspepsia and 80 healthy controls; matchd for age sex and marital status. A semi structured psychiatric interview and clinical mental state examination were used in the psychiatric assessment of the patients and controls. Psychiatric diagnoses were made according to DSM3 R. a modified version of life events scale by tannant and Andrews was used in the assessment of life Events in relation to psychiatric illness. Psychiatric illness was significantly more in the patients than the controls. Anxiety and depressive disorders dominated the clinical picture and the symptoms were usually of mild nature. Other neurotic were rare and psychotic illness was absent. Though more psychiatric patients experienced life events than the controls, differences, however were not statistically significant. Further studies are needed, especially in relation to the casusative association between the functional dyspepsia and psychiatric disturbances

Prevalence of psychiatric disturbances among patients with thyroid dysfunction

This is a preliminary study of the pattern of psychiatric illness in thyroid dysfunction, using a semi-stuctured psychiatric interview and DSM-111R diagnoses. A total of 72 patients [42 hyperthyroid and 30 hypothyroid] were studied for sociodemographic characteristic and associated psychiatric diagnoses. The majority of the patients were under the age of 50 [82%] and the females dominated over males in the ratio of 2.6:1. thirty patents [42%] of the two groups encountered psychiatric illness; 15 patients of each group. Anxiety and phobic neuroses were the commonest psychiatric illnesses [26.7%], more in the hyperthyroid group [45%]. Depression was second [20%], but more in the hypothyroid group [26.7%]. The organic brain syndrome was absent and functional psychosis was rare. These and other results in our study were discussed with comparable studies abroad. A multidisciplinary approach to the problem of psychiatric illness in thyroid dysfunction is suggested

Life event stress in duodenal ulcer compared with functional dyspepsia: a case-control study

This is a prospective study of life event stress in 80 duodenal ulcer patients compared with 80 patients with functional dyspepsia and 80 healthy controls; matched for age, sex and marital status. A semi-structured psychiatric interview was used in the psychiatric assessment of the dyspeptic patients and controls. A modified version of Life Events Scale by Tennant and Andrews was used in the assessment of life event stress. More dyspeptic patients reported life events than the controls, but, on the whole, the differences were not statistically significant. On the other hand, more patients with functional dyspepsia experienced life events than the patients with duodenal ulcer, but again the results were not consistant, Life event stress as measured by the experience of undesirable life events was significantly reported by more patients with functional dyspepsia. The significance of the presence of life events in duodenal ulcer and functional dyspepsia patients is not substantiated in the present study, as the positive findings were few and sometimes inconsistant, More quantitative studies are needed, taking into consideration the other aspects of the problem like personality, cognition and the complex interaction of stressors and personality

psychopathology of irritable bowel syndrome

This is a controlled study of Psychiatric Manifestations of irritable bowel syndrome [IBS] among Saudi patients. The patients and control groups [40 each] were matched for age, sex and marital status. The self reporting questionnaire and a semi-structured psychiatric interviews were the tools used for the psychiatric assessment of the patients. Psychiatric morbidity among patients with IBS was high 80%. The commonest psychiatric presentations were psychoneurotic disorders[anxiety, depression and conversion]. Abdominal pain, flatulence, constipation and diarrhea were the dominant physical symptoms. Stressful life events were frequently associated with IBS [50%], especially marital and family disorder [75%]. Self reporting questionnaire proved to be a valid screening instrument with a high sensitivity and specificity