Epidemiologic findings of the patients who attempted suicide and referred to the Shahid Mohammadi hospital of Bandar Abbass in 2009

Objective: Suicide is the 13th leading cause of death worldwide and is influenced by cultural, psychological and social aspects. The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiology of suicide in Bandar Abbas in 2009.Methods: In a cross-sectional study in 2009, all suicidal patients who were referred to the emergency room (ER) of Shahid Mohammadi Hospital of Bandar Abbass were enrolled. Fully trained medical interns of the ER first collected demographic data of the suicidal patients. Then the data, including their reason for attempting suicide, how they attempted suicide, previous suicide attempts, history of substance use, and the size of the family, were collected by direct interviewing the patient. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS-16 software.Results: About 405 patients were enrolled in the study consisting 172 men (44.2%) and 226 (55.8%) women. Mean age of the participants was 24.29±5.5 years. Most of the suicidal patients were 18 to 26 years old (64.2%). Thirty-eight percent of the women and 62% of the men were addicts. Eleven patients (2.71%) died, including eight men and three women. The most prevalent method of suicide leading to death was drug toxicity. Conclusion: Teaching problem-solving skills is an important way to control suicide. Identifying the risk groups, paying closer attention to the 18-26 age group, and moral support of the patients with previous unsuccessful suicide attempts might decrease the suicide rate

Epidemiology of Schizophrenia in Bandarabbass in 2009

Objective: Schizophrenia is a harmful disorder with an unknown etiology that causes dysfunction and interferes with work, school and the patient's communications. The prevalence and incidence rate of schizophrenia varies in different countries. The aim of the current study is to investigate the epidemiology of schizophrenia in Bandarabbass in 2009.Methods: This descriptive and retrospective study was conducted in 2009 in Ebnesina Mental Hospital and patients who were diagnosed with schizophrenia according to the DSM-IV criteria were enrolled (198 patients). Then, by using a checklist prepared by a psychiatry specialist, the data was extracted from the medical records. The gathered data was analyzed by SPSS 19 using the descriptive statistics test.Results: The mean age of the 198 participants was 36.5±11.591, and 69.2 percent of them were male and 30.8 percent were female. Also 60.6 percent of the patients were married and 76.8 percent were unemployed. Four percent had diabetes and 3 percent were hypertensive and 84.3 percent didn't have substance use comorbidity. Hallucinations were seen in 45.4 percent of the patients and 60.1 percent experienced delusions. Conclusion: As discussed above, many of the symptoms were different in Bandarabbass and this confirms that race plays a significant role in schizophrenia and its symptoms. Therefore more research must be performed about schizophrenia in different regions. Since the presentation of this disorder varies, unique treatments according to patient’s race might be needed

Comorbidity of Anxiety Disorders and Substance Abusewith Bipolar Mood Disorders and Relationship with ClinicalCourse

"n Objective: Patients with bipolar mood disorder constitute a relatively large number of individuals hospitalized in psychiatric hospitals. This disorder is highly co-morbid with other psychiatric disorders and may effect their clinical course. The goal of this study was to determine the co-occurrence rate of anxiety disorders and substance abuse with bipolar mood disorders and their impact on clinical course. "n Methods: 153 bipolar patients (type I) were selected among the hospitalized patients at Razi Psychiatric Hospital in Tabriz, Iran, from September 2007 to October 2008 through convenience sampling method. The participants were evaluated by a structured clinical interview based on DSM-IV criteria (SCID), Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) and Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS). Results: Co-morbidity of anxiety disorders was 43% . Occurrence of anxiety disorders was 26% for obsessive-compulsive disorder, 24.8% for generalized anxiety disorder, 3.9% for phobia and 2% for panic disorder. Co-morbidity of substance abuse was 7.2% and the highest occurrence of substance abuse was 5.2% for alcoholism and 3.9% for opium. No significant difference was observed between the severity of disease and duration of hospitalization in bipolar patients with or without anxiety disorder. The severity of disease and duration of hospitalization in bipolar patients with substance abuse was higher compared to bipolar patients without substance abuse (P<0.05). "nConclusions: This study suggests that there is a high co-morbidity between anxiety disorders and substance abuse with bipolar disorder. Further, this study suggests that co-occurrence of substance abuse disorder with bipolar disorder increases the severity of the disease and duration of hospitalization

Prevalence of Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (Adult ADHD): Tabriz.

Objective: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults (adult ADHD) is gaining more attention nowadays. Nevertheless, very few studies have addressed this issue in Iran. The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of adult ADHD in Tabriz, North-West of Iran. Methods: Four hundred urban inhabitants of Tabriz- with a n age range of 18 to 45 years were selected through the probability proportional to size cluster sampling in 2009. The screening was performed by Conner's Adult ADHD Rating Scale, and the definite diagnosis of Adult ADHD was performed via clinical interview according to DSM-IV-TR andWender Utah criteria. Results: The prevalence of adult ADHD was estimated to be 3.8%. Men when compared with women were more likely to have ADHD (5.5 % in men versus 2 % in women). Marital status, birth order, educational level and occupational status showed no significant association with adult ADHD. History of psychiatric treatment, alcohol drinking and smoking had similar relative frequency in subjects with and without adult ADHD. Conclusion: The prevalence of adult ADHD in this region of Iran seems to be substantially higher than expected or treated. This would require more attention to be drawn by health sector managers in order to improve the knowledge of the general population and the knowledge of the health care professionals about the disorder