Patterns of Psychiatric Illness in a Tertiary Care Centre of Arunachal Pradesh: An Observational Study

Introduction:Monitoring the pattern of psychiatric illness among inpatients is essential for understanding the burden and trends of disease, in addition to designing and developing focused preventive and interventional strategies. Given the significant regional variation in the prevalence of mental illness, the present study evaluated the profile of psychiatric illness among inpatients admitted to a tertiary care center situated in the North East of India. Methods:Information from case records of consecutively admitted patients aged 18 years and above over the preceding three years, coded under the International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition (ICD-10), was reviewed. Details of socio-demographic parameters and psychiatric illness as well as substance use were extracted and represented by using descriptive statistics. Results:There were 371 admissions over the above-mentioned time frame. Subjects had a mean age of 36.5±10.45 years and 80.05% of them were males. Substance use disorders (77.62%) were the most commonly noted among study participants, with the majority being diagnosed with opioid dependence (43.93%) and alcohol dependence (29.92%), followed by tobacco dependence (2.16%). Psychotic disorders (5.12%), anxiety disorders (6.19%) and mood disorders (1.88%) were noted in a much lower proportion than anticipated. More than half (n=248) of subjects were aged 18-34 years. Conclusion:A disproportionate overrepresentation of substance use disorders among psychiatric inpatients in the North Eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh in India contrasts with the profile noted in other parts of the country. Notably affecting the younger age group, the findings of the present study highlight the need for the development of targeted preventive and interventional strategies to address the same. The study could help inform mental health policy initiatives and guide focused mental health care provision. These could include the establishment of centers for addiction medicine, enhancing training in addiction medicine for health professionals, counseling services and development of long-term rehabilitation for those suffering from substance use disorders.