The sociodemographic and clinical pattern of hysteria in Saudi Arabia.

Author: Al Habeeb, Tariq A, Abdulgani, Yousef I, Al Ghamdi, Mohammed S, Al Jundi, Mohammed T, Qureshi, Naseem A

Source:
The Arab Journal of Psychiatry, 10, 99-109.
Describes prospectively the sociodemographic and clinical parameters of patients with hysteria presenting to Psychiatric Emergency Services of five regional hospitals in Saudi ArabiThis multicenter study recruited 132 patients with hysteria, diagnosed in accordance with the Fourth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder criteriThe majority of patients were females (70%), young (<30 years, 87% and single (63%). Most of the Ss presented with conversion disorder, (98%) and were chiefly characterized by a single symptom. The most frequent symptoms, whether single or in combination with other symptoms, were aphonia (31.2%), fitlike movements (29.6%) and loss of consciousness (25.6%). A proportion of patients (23.5%) was clinically depressed. The socioclinical pattern of hysteria in Saudi Arabia appears to be changing. It is mostly consistent with international data but the explanations are different. In light of this study and other reviewed researches, the authors suggest that a long-term study should be pursued in order to identify the final course and outcome of such clients