Epidemic of Koro in North East India: an observational cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE

Koro is a culture bound syndrome, endemic in South-East Asia. The present study attempts to correlate the socio-cultural and demographic variables of the patients with the occurrence of the Koro and the differences in presentation between the classical features of the Koro and the actual presentation of the disease that has been observed in the present study.

METHOD

A cross-sectional observational study was performed and data collected during the period was compared, analyzed and studied. A total number of 70 patients who presented to the Department of Psychiatry with symptoms of Koro over the period of 5 days were taken into the study.

RESULTS

Most of the patients were, young, unmarried males belonging to a lower socioeconomic status. Most of these patients suffered the attacks in the evening mostly while at home. It was common in migrant and migrant lineage. Media had a major role to spread this epidemic.

CONCLUSIONS

Koro epidemics are considered to be the result of panic that spread following the occurrence of symptoms in one or more individuals within the same geographical zone. While the issues concerning phenomenology, diagnosis and nosology of Koro are still being discussed, it is apparent that Koro which presents as an acute anxiety state is treatment responsive and has good prognosis.