Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 Department of Psychology, Shiraz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran
2 Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Science, Shiraz, Iran
Abstract
Introduction: Individuals with psychiatric disorders suffer from poorer physical health than the general population and are at a higher risk for cardiovascular diseases and a higher mortality rate. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between concurrent medical disorders and the severity of psychiatric symptoms in hospitalized patients.
Methods: This short-term longitudinal (cohort) study was conducted in the summer of 2023. The study population consisted of 510 patients (100 women, 410 men) hospitalized in the psychiatric wards of Ebne-Sina Hospital in Shiraz, Iran, who were evaluated via census sampling and clinical interview. Participants completed the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) and a researcher-made checklist for concurrent medical disorders. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 23 and R version 4.3 software, employing independent two-sample t-tests.
Results: The analysis revealed significant associations between 14 concurrent medical disorders and the severity of psychiatric symptoms. Conditions such as seizure disorders, thyroid-related issues, anemia, and hypertension showed a significant and direct relationship with symptom severity (P≤0.01). In contrast, disorders related to the prostate, diabetes, and asthma had the least impact on psychiatric symptom severity.
Conclusion: The findings highlighted that understanding the potential relationship between medical and psychiatric conditions is crucial for providing effective patient care. The co-occurrence of physical and mental illnesses could significantly influence disease management, treatment methods, overall health status, and patient quality of life.
Keywords
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