Changing pattern of dissociative [conversion] disorder

ABSTRACT

To analyze the prevalence of dissociative [conversion] disorder in psychiatric out patient department and to compare the rate of reporting over six years 1988-1993. Design and Setting: Six years 1988-1993 retrospective survey of all the patients who presented to the outpatient department of psychiatry Mayo Hospital Lahore. Outcome measures: Total psychiatric cases and patients suffering from dissociative [conversion] disorder with demographic variables of age, sex, source of referral and marital, social, literacy and residential status have been analyzed on the yearly basis. While the total psychiatric cases showed a progressive increase, the number of patients suffering from dissociative [conversion] disorder progressively decreased by 50%. No significant change in other demographic variables was observed. This 50% decrease of patients of dissociative [conversion] disorder may reflect a true fall in the incidence of this disorder in our society. Further well controlled epidemiological studies may help in clarifying this observation