Psychosocial factors associated with psychiatric morbidity in higher institution students in Nigeria

Introduction: Mental health disorders in undergraduates are often undetected and may predispose to other academic and social complications. The objective of the study is to determine the prevalence of probable psychiatric morbidity among students of University of Ilorin, Nigeria and the psycho-social factors that are associated with psychiatric morbidity in them. Methods: Socio-demographic questionnaire and the 12-item General health questionnaire (GHQ-12) were administered to 3,300 undergraduate students to assess psychosocial variables and psychiatric morbidity respectively. Results: About 23.5% of respondents scored >3 using the GHQ-12 questionnaire, signifying a likehood of psychiatric morbidity. Students from polygamous families were 1.3 times more likely to have GHQ scores of >3 than those from monogamous (OR=1.276, P=0.026). Those who had unemployed fathers were twice more likely to have a GHQ > 3 than those with employed fathers. (OR=2.084, P=0.005).Those who lived in houses with shared toilet facilities were 1.3 times more likely to have GHQ >3 (OR=1.310, P=0.028) Conclusion: This study calls for a careful consideration and modification of the various psychosocial factors associated with pschiatric morbidity in order to ensure a mentally healthy and vibrant student community

Intelligence quotient of neurologically impaired children attending neurology clinic in a nigerian tertiary institution

Background: The need to identify the intellectual capability of neurologically impaired children dictates their educability which can be estimated through their intelligence quotient (IQ). Draw-a-man test for IQ estimation is available, easy and has been validated in Nigeria. Method: Through a prospective, cross-sectional study that lasted 12 months (January-December, 2011), children aged 4 years and above attending neurology clinic were recruited once they have no severe motor or sensory limitations affecting their upper limbs and can obey the instruction to draw a person. Anthropometry was carried out on them and they were comfortably seated to draw a person. The parents or caregivers were instructed not to make any suggestion or hint to them and no time limit was given. Their drawings were assessed using the 52 parameters of Ziler and interpreted accordingly. Ethical procedures were adhered to. The analysis was done using SPSS version 16 and an interactive calculation tool for chi-square tests of goodness of fit and independence. Results: Seventy-five (45 male, 30 female) children met the inclusion criteria. Their clinical conditions were Epilepsy 48 (64%), Cerebral Palsy 6 (8%), ADHD 5 (6.7%), Down Syndrome 4 (5.3%), Speech/Hearing impairment 3 (4.0%), Hypothyroidism 2 (2.7%) and 7 (9.3%) others. Their ages ranged from 4 years to 16 years (mean±SD = 9.7± 3.8 years). Their IQ distribution were Normal 4 (5.3%), Borderline 12 (16.0%), Mild Mental Retardation 16 (21.3%), Moderate Mental Retardation 19 (25.3%), Severe and Profound Mental Retardation 24 (32.0%) with no significant difference in relation to their birth order. Conclusions: Ninety-six per cent of the study population had IQ below normal. Epilepsy was the commonest condition seen in the Paediatric Neurology clinic and all categories of IQ are seen among children with epilepsy