[Psychiatric disorders in pharyngitis patients and its associated factor analysis]

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Otolaryngology
• Psychological Medicine

Background:

• Pharyngitis is a common condition with potential psychological impacts.
• Understanding psychiatric comorbidities in pharyngitis is crucial for comprehensive patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of psychiatric comorbidities in patients diagnosed with pharyngitis.
• To identify demographic and disease-related factors associated with these comorbidities.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 100 pharyngitis patients underwent psychological evaluation using the Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90).
• Results were compared to a healthy Chinese population, analyzing factors like gender, age, disease duration, and education level.
• Statistical analysis was performed using the rank-sum test and SPSS 19.0.

Main Results:

• 65% of pharyngitis patients exhibited mild psychosis and 14% moderate psychosis.
• Significant elevations in somatization, obsession, interpersonal sensitivity, anxiety, and sleep/diet issues were observed compared to controls (P < 0.05).
• Higher scores for obsession and anxiety were noted in males, somatization and obsession in junior education levels, somatization, interpersonal sensitivity, and anxiety in long-course pharyngitis, and interpersonal sensitivity in lower educated groups.

Conclusions:

• Psychiatric disorders are common in pharyngitis patients, manifesting as somatization, obsession, interpersonal sensitivity, and anxiety.
• Specific risk groups include males, individuals with junior education levels, long-term disease duration, and lower educational attainment.