Psycho-social and clinical characteristics of Patients with schizophrenia in Gombe, North-Eastern Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Schizophrenia is one of the most debilitating mental illnesses which occurs in all societies all over the world. Many studies conducted mainly in the western countries have found that the disease varies in terms of the socio demographic profiles, the presentation, course and it’s prognosis. There is a paucity of research on characteristic profiles of patients with schizophrenia in this region. Objective: To determine the psycho- social and clinical characteristics of patients with schizophrenia in Gombe. Methods: A retrospective records review of all patients newly diagnosed with schizophrenia using the ICD-11 diagnostic criteria was conducted. Data was collected from case notes of new patients diagnosed with schizophrenia who were either admitted into psychiatry wards of the state specialist hospital or those who were seen in psychiatry out-patient clinic in State Specialist Hospital Gombe from January to December 2022. Results: A total of 46 patients were studied. Sixty five percent were males while 35% were females giving a M:F ratio of 1.9:1. Their mean age was 32.1 years ( range 15-73). The females were considerably older with majority of them above 30 years of age. The disease occurs much earlier in males, the average age at onset in males was 19.1 years, and 29.6yrs in females. Majority of the patients had positive symptoms and typical anti-psychotic medications were the main treatment received. Conclusion: Schizophrenia is more common among males and is characterized by early age of onset with predominantly positive symptoms.

Keywords: Clinical, psychosocial, profile, Schizophrenia, Gombe, Nigeria.