Psychiatric Illnesses, Somatic Complaints, and Treatments in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND

Psychiatric disorders differ in frequency and symptoms based on the cultural and ethnic background of patients. This can make diagnosing and treating patients challenging globally. In Pakistan, most psychiatric patients report multiple somatic complaints. Our goal was to investigate the causes of these complaints, identify common psychiatric conditions, and analyze their various manifestations in clinical practice. We also aimed to identify ways to improve the quality of care provided to our patients.

METHODOLOGY

We collected and organized data by utilizing predetermined tables from a sample of 231 patients who visited the outpatient clinics. Inpatients were not included in this study because of the absence of a psychiatric unit at our facility. Patients' past medical and psychiatric records were thoroughly examined, and pertinent information was extracted. The most common psychiatric disorders within the studied population were diagnosed based on the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) diagnostic criteria.

RESULTS

In this study, a sample size of 231 was examined to determine the most common diseases (ICD-10) in males and females. In males, the most prevalent diseases were mixed anxiety and depression (MAD), depression, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), bipolar affective disorder (BPAD), social phobia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Females, on the other hand, presented more with depression, GAD, mixed anxiety and depression, conversion or dissociative disorder, OCD, and panic attacks. Headaches were the most frequently reported symptom, experienced by 61.9% the of participants, followed by lethargy, extremity pains, palpitations, loss of appetite, heartburn or acidity, heaviness on the head, shoulder pains, bloating, dizziness, chest pains, hot flashes or shivering, and constipation. Meanwhile, a quarter of the males did not complain of any somatic symptoms, compared to 10% of the females. Additionally, 7.3% of females reported more than six somatic symptoms, compared to 5.7% of males. When it came to treatment preferences, 73.6% of the participants preferred medication over psychotherapy and over a combination of both. The Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) Statistics version 22 (IBM SPSS Statistics, Armonk, NY, USA) was used to conduct a chi-square test of independence to analyze the obtained data. For post hoc analysis of quantitative data (i.e., the number of somatic symptoms reported by participants), one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied, followed by Tukey's honestly significant difference (HSD) test.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first comprehensive study of its kind for this population and region. It emphasizes that clinicians should be aware of the variety of somatic symptoms and psychiatric presentations among this population. Such awareness can improve clinical practices and reduce the burden on health services.