Grigsby R K, Thyer B A, Waller R J, Johnston G A
Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta 30912, USA.
South Med J. 1999 Feb;92(2):190-2. doi: 10.1097/00007611-199902000-00005.
Although geophagia (earth eating) has been observed and documented in many areas of the world, the specific preference for consuming kaolin is less well known. The ingestion of kaolin, also known as white dirt, chalk, or white clay, is a relatively common type of pica found in the central Georgia Piedmont area.
We reviewed the literature, made informal contacts with Georgia physicians, and arranged semistructured interviews with 21 individuals with a history of chalk eating; we gathered both quantitative and qualitative information.
Kaolin ingestion appears to be a culturally-transmitted form of pica, not selectively associated with other psychopathology.
Kaolin ingestion appears to meet the DSM-IV criteria for a "culture-bound syndrome."
尽管世界上许多地区都观察到并记录了食土癖（吃土）现象，但对食用高岭土的特定偏好却鲜为人知。摄入高岭土，也被称为白土、白垩或白黏土，是佐治亚州中部皮埃蒙特地区相对常见的一种异食癖类型。
我们查阅了文献，与佐治亚州的医生进行了非正式接触，并安排对21名有吃白垩史的个体进行半结构化访谈；我们收集了定量和定性信息。
摄入高岭土似乎是一种文化传播的异食癖形式，与其他精神病理学无选择性关联。
摄入高岭土似乎符合《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》第四版中“文化相关综合征”的标准。
