Psychiatric Morbidities and Socioeconomic Background - An Evaluation from a District Level Government Hospital

Abstract Background: Sociodemographic variations exert a profound influence on treatment-seeking behavior among mental health patients, shaping patterns of access, utilization, and engagement with mental health services. This study aimed to observe the socioeconomic presentation of patients attending district level government hospital for psychiatric treatment. Methods: The medical records of patients attending the outpatient department (OPD) at Shaheed Syed Nazrul Islam Medical College in Kishoreganj, Bangladesh, between February 2023 and November 2023, were reviewed. Data on demographic details and psychiatric diagnoses were extracted from records that were complete and accessible. Patients with incomplete records were excluded. Diagnostic categorization followed the guidelines of the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10). Result: This study observed cases of 521 patients, the majority of whom were aged between 20 and 40 years (60.50%). Females constitute 67.20% of the sample. Educational attainment of the sample showed that, 16.70% had no literacy, 24.80% had completed primary education, 29.94% had studied up to secondary or higher secondary level, and 28.60% hold a graduate degree or studied higher. 64.10% of the sample resided in urban areas and 53.20% were married. About half of the sample (52.40%) had a monthly income between BDT 16,000 to 30,000. “Anxiety, Stress-Related, Somatoform, and Other Nonpsychotic Mental Disorders (F40-F48)” and “Mood [Affective] Disorders (F30-F39)” accounted for majority of the cases (40.31% and 22.26% respectively. Females were more affected than males in almost all categories, however, phobic anxiety disorders (55.56%), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) (52.94%), and substance abuse disorders (62.50%) were more common in men. Conclusion: This study demonstrated district level presentation of patients with psychiatric morbidity and their socioeconomic diversities where anxiety, stress, and mood-related disorders were common with a female predominance. It is essential to achieve a more comprehensive representation of socioeconomic backgrounds by including participants from diverse settings beyond government district hospitals, such as private healthcare facilities, community health centers, and house-to-house visits to understand the general situation of mental health disorders in Bangladesh.