Psychiatric morbidity in prisoners.

CONTEXT: The prevalence of psychiatric illness in correctional settings is significantly elevated, with higher than community rates reported for most mental disorders. AIMS: (1) To examine the socio-demographic profile of convicted prisoners. (2) To evaluate the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in convicted prisoners. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 500 convicts were assessed for psychiatric morbidity with the help of (a) Socio-demographic proforma, (b) Pareek Udai and Trivedi G's socio-economic status scale (rural) (household schedule), (c) Kuppuswamy's economic status scale (urban) and (d) Present State Examination (PSE). RESULTS: 23.8% of the convicted prisoners were suffering from psychiatric illness excluding substance abuse. 56.4% of the prisoners had history of substance abuse / dependence prior to incarceration. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that a substantial burden of psychiatric morbidity exists in the prison population of India and the burden of psychiatric illness in this vulnerable and marginalized population poses a serious challenge to psychiatrists.

Psychiatric morbidity in non-psychiatric geriatric inpatients.

AIM: To evaluate the profile of psychiatric disorders in geriatric inpatients. METHODS: A total of 528 patients (age 65 years and above) admitted to various departments of the teaching hospital attached to the Government Medical College, Amritsar from 15 September 2001 to 14 September 2002 were included in the study. Psychiatric assessment of patients was made on the basis of psychogeriatric assessment scales (PAS) and present state examination (PSE-ninth edition, 1974). The ICD-10 criteria were used for psychiatric diagnoses. General medical conditions were diagnosed by consultants of the respective departments. The patients were finally assessed by the consultant of the Department of Psychiatry. The obtained data were analysed using the chi-square test. RESULTS: Of the 528 patients, 260 (49%) had psychiatric co-morbidity. The most common psychiatric disorder was depression (25.94%), followed by adjustment disorders (11%), anxiety disorders (4.54%), dementias (3.6%), delirium (3%), bipolar disorders (0.8%), and substance-related disorders (0.4%). CONCLUSION: The above findings emphasize the importance of consultation-liaison psychiatry, especially in geriatric patients.