Socio-demographic profile of patients attending outpatient department of Psychiatry in a tertiary healthcare unit of Telangana state

Abstract

Background: Mental illnesses are a major source of morbidity across both developed & developing countries. They are an important health problem that refers to disorders of mood, thought, cognition, intelligence, personality, substance abuse and adjustment. Material & Methods: This is a retrospective descriptive study of socio-demographic factors of patients attending Psychiatry Outpatient department in Government General Hospital, GMC-Nalgonda, over a period of 6 months (from 1st June2020 to 31st November2020). Results: Data was analyzed after completion of 6 months. A total of 254 patients who attended the psychiatry op of GGH &GMH Nalgonda was analyzed. Nearly 64% of the study population belonged to the age group of 15 to 40 yrs, the most economically productive group. The chi sq test was done for males and females belonging to urban and rural areas. The p value (probability value) was found to be 0.01 and was significant for urban females. Conclusion: A total of 254 new patients visited the hospital in this period. We found that the mental disorders comprise a wide variety – mainly psychotic, mood disorders & neurotic disorders. They affect the most productive age groups, almost equally affect both the genders, with slight increase among females.