Clinical profile of delusional disorder and its subtypes: a descriptive study from Turkey

The fact that delusional disorder (DD) received minimal research attention indicates the need for descriptive studies that will better delineate the clinical and socio-demographic characteristics of DD. We conducted a chart review descriptive study in a tertiary hospital from Turkey. A total of 99 cases of DD were identified through hospital registry system. 57 were male (57.6%), and mean age at first admission was 49.34±13.49. The most common type of DD was persecutory (36.4%), followed by jealous type (28.3%), mixed type (18.2%), and somatic type (16.2%). Jealous type DD patients were more likely to be married, and mixed type DD patients were more likely to be divorced. The presence of hallucinations was significantly associated with history of hospitalization. About one-tenth of the patients had a family history of psychotic spectrum disorder. Comorbid depressive disorder was present in 42.9% of the patients, whereas only 9.2% had comorbid anxiety disorder. Depressive disorder comorbidity in DD seems to be associated with continued treatment for longer periods of time in psychiatry services. While most of our data were comparable with the literature on DD, our divergent findings like higher rates of male patients and jealous type of the disorder might be attributed to the cultural and geographical factors. This situation points out that future research with larger populations and from different regions would contribute to better understanding of clinical and socio-demographical characteristics of delusional disorder.