Psychiatric Morbidity: A Retrospective Study From a Tertiary Care Center

Background It is crucial to monitor the psychiatric morbidity patterns of patients to comprehend the burden and trends of mental illness, as well as to create targeted prevention and intervention strategies. Due to the significant regional differences in mental illness, the current study assessed the psychiatric morbidity pattern from a tertiary care center in Central India. Methods We conducted this retrospective record-based study using data from the outpatient department register of the Psychiatry Department of Government Bundelkhand Medical College, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, India. All records from January to December 2022 were included, while duplicate and incomplete records were excluded. Data from 2005 cases were finalized for analysis after considering inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data abstraction was done for age, gender, marital status, family history of any psychiatric disorder, and diagnosis (according to ICD-10) from the records. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS Version 26.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Quantitative data were presented as means ± standard deviation (SD), whereas qualitative data were presented as frequency and percentages. The chi-square test was applied to determine the association, and p-values <0.05 were considered significant. Results The mean age of the patients was 37.2±16.9 years, where the youngest patient was of four years of age and the eldest was 85 years of age. Most patients were males (50.6%), married (61.1%), and from rural areas (71.8%). Mood (affective) disorder (32.4%) was the most common, followed by schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorders (20.0%), and neurotic, stress-related, and somatoform disorders (17.4%). Organic mental disorders and substance use disorders were more common in unmarried individuals and males. Females had higher rates of mood disorders and somatoform disorders, with varying age distributions. Adult personality disorder and mental retardation had equal frequencies among males and females, with different age distributions. Hyperkinetic disorder was more common in males, while headache syndrome was more common in females. Psychiatric disorders were more prevalent in the urban population, except for substance abuse and hyperkinetic disorder. Conclusion Our study highlights the types of psychiatric disorders among patients at a tertiary care center, aiding clinicians in improving care and emphasizing early detection and treatment of mental illnesses.