Psychiatric morbidity in Northern Jordan: a ten-year review

To study the psychiatric morbidity in the northern part of Jordan and to determine the frequency distribution of various psychiatric disorders, for planning services.

All records of 2,335 psychiatric patients attending the only psychiatric clinic in Northern part of Jordan during a ten-year period from 1984 to 1993 were extensively reviewed and subjected to computerized analysis. Diagnosis was made as per ICD-9.

Out of the 2335 patients who attended the clinic, 55% were males and 45% were females. Those in the age group 25-44 recorded the maximum attendance. Among the male attendees of the clinic, schizophrenia was the commonest diagnosis(19.9%), while among females, affective disorders were the commonest(15.9%).

Schizophrenia was found to be the commonest diagnosis in general among attendance of the clinic for the ten-year research period, while anxiety disorders were the commonest diagnosis among attendance of the clinic for the year 1993.