Community screening for psychiatric morbidity in four remote valleys of Hindu Kush and Karakoram regions of Pakistan

Objective: To find out the frequency of psychiatric morbidity in patients reporting to general medical camps in the Hindu Kush and Karakoram ranges of Pakistan. Study Design: A cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Four different valleys of the region, with the Psychiatry Department, Combined Military Hospital, Gilgit as the base, from August 2015 to December 2016

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Methodology: Consenting adults of either gender, reporting to medical camps for various health related issues were administered Bradford Somatic Inventory 21 [BSI 21] and Self Report Questionnaire [SRQ]. Non-parametric statistical techniques including Mann-Whitney test, Kruskall-Wallis test, and Spearman correlation, along with median and inter quartile range, were used to analyse data

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Results: Out of a total of 478 [52.1% females] respondents, half [n=234 [48.9%] on BSI and n=243 [50.8%] on SRQ] reported positive psychiatric morbidity. Inter-valley differences were significant [BSI, chi 2=49.1, p<.001; SRQ, chi 2=66.5, p<.001]. Females reported higher levels of psychiatric morbidity measured by BSI [p<.001] and SRQ [p<.001], as compared to males. Participants' occupation was significantly associated [BSI; chi 2=23.1, SRQ; chi 2=35.3, p<.001] while their age was not significantly associated [BSI, r=-.06, p>.05; SRQ, r=-.09, p>.05] with their psychiatric morbidity

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Conclusion: Psychiatric morbidity was prevalent in the population studied, which may go unrecognized, overlooked, or mistreated by the locally available medical resources. There is a huge need for mental health services in these areas