The prevalence of psychiatric disorders in patients attending dermatology outpatient clinics at Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital (BDTH), Kaduna State University, Nigeria

Abstract

Although psychiatric disorders are frequent among dermatological patients, a few studies have formally assessed the performance of any psychiatric screening questionnaire in dermatological practice. This study tested the ability of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) to identify psychiatric morbidity in dermatological patients. A sample of 125 outpatients attending dermatology clinics at Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital (BDTH) Kaduna Nigeria, completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, a GHQ-12 and were administered the Structured Clinical Interview for WHO International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) by a trained mental health professional. Patients that scored “two” and above on GHQ-12 were selected for the stage two interview. Out of all dermatological patients who visited the health facility, 125 were recruited and consented to participate in the study giving a response rate of 100%, which makes up to 104% of the initial proposed sample size (n=120). Of the 125 participants, 48 (38.4%) were men and 76(60.8%) were women. The mean age was 27 years (SD, ±15 years; range, 18-55 years). The psychiatric morbidity was significant in our dermatological patients, thus indicating the use of GHQ 12 in assisting to formulate psychiatric interventions and possible reduction in morbidity and cost of treatment.