DEPRESSION IN DISSOCIATIVE (CONVERSION) DISORDER PATIENTS;

Objective: Prevalence of depression in Dissociative (Conversion) disorder Patients. Place and Duration of Study: Thestudy was conducted in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Science / Bahawal Victoria Hospital & Quaid-e-Azam MedicalCollege, Bahawalpur, from February 2012 to May 2012. Subjects and Methods: The sample consisted of 100 consecutive in patients(Female 84, Male 16) of Dissociative (Conversion) disorder. They were interviewed and results were analyzed from the entries in aPerforma and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Results: Majority of the patients were female (84%), uneducated (54%) andunmarried (60%). Mean age of our patients was 21.84±7.29 years. Depression was found in 76% of patients. Out of 76 depressedpatients had moderate depression, 24 had severe depression. Conclusions: Our study collaborates that depression was present in highproportion in patients with dissociative (conversion) disorder, which shows that co-morbid depression should not be over looked in thesepatients. It is recommended that every patient presenting with dissociative (Conversion) disorder should be assessed for co-morbiddepression and should be managed accordingly.