The prevalence of psychiatric symptoms in the patients with Behcet’s disease in Shiraz, Southwest of Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Behçet’s disease (BD), first explained in 1937 by the Turkish dermatologist Hulusi Behçet, is a complicated multisystem syndrome described by a triad of oral, genital, and ocular ulcers. The present study aimed to investigate existence of some psychological symptoms in the patients suffering from BD. Method: The present research was a cross-sectional one, which was conducted on a sample of 101 randomly selected patients with BD who had been followed up at Shahid Motahari Clinic, Shiraz, Southwest of Iran, from June 2011 to August 2011. All of the patients completed the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) and some demographic information, such as age and gender. All statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS statistical software (v. 17.0). Results: According to the results, 30.7% of the patients were healthy (GSI<0.7), while others (69.3%) had different levels of symptoms (GSI>0.7). In psychiatric symptoms’ subscales, somatization (91.7%), anxiety (78%), and depression (77.78%) were the most prevalent symptoms. On the other hand, phobia had the lowest prevalence (34.1%). Based on our findings, the females’ average anxiety score was significantly higher than that of the male subjects (p= 0.013). Conclusion: The prevalence of psychological symptoms was remarkable in the patients with BD. Therefore, physicians should monitor their patients in order to detect the possible psychiatric disorders they might develop during their disease.

Keywords

• Behcet, psychiatric symptom, prevalence, SCL90-R

İran’ın güneybatısı, Shiraz’daki Behçet hastalarında psikiyatrik belirti sıklığı

Öz

Giriş: Behçet hastalığı (BH), ilk olarak 1937 yılında bir Türk Dermatoloğu olan Hulusi Behçet tarafından oral, genital ve oküler ülser üçlüsü ile tanımlanan karmaşık bir çoklu sistem sendromudur. Bu çalışmada BH’den muzdarip hastalarda bazı psikolojik belirtilerin varlığını araştırmayı amaçladık. Yöntem: Bu araştırma Haziran 2011-Ağustos 2011 tarihleri arasında İran’ın güneybatısında yer alan Shiraz Shahid Motahari Kliniği’nde takip edilen hastalararın arasından rastgele seçilmiş 101 BH hastasından oluşan bir örneklem üzerinde yapılan kesitsel bir çalışma idi. Tüm hastalar Belirti Tarama Listesi-90-Gözden Geçirilmiş (Symptom Checklist, SCL-90-R) ve yaş ve cinsiyet gibi bazı demografik bilgilerin yer aldığı formları tamamladı. Tüm istatistiksel analizler SPSS istatistik programı (v 17.0) kullanılarak yapıldı. Bulgular: Sonuçlara göre hastaların %30.7’si (GSI<0.7) sağlıklı iken diğerlerinin (%69.3) çeşitli seviyede belirtileri (GSI<0.7) mevcuttu. Psikiyatrik belirti alt ölçeklerinden somatizasyon (91.7%), anksiyete (78%) ve depresyon (77.78%) en sık belirtilerdi. Diğer yandan en nadir olan belirti ise korku (34.1%) idi. Çalışmamızın bulgularına göre kadın hastaların ortalama anksiyete sonuçları erkeklere göre anlamlı derecede yüksekti (p= 0.013). Sonuç: Psikolojik belirtilerinin sıklığı BH hastalarında dikkat çekiciydi. Bu nedenle hekimler, hastalarının hastalıkları sırasında gelişebilecek olası psikiyatrik bozuklukları saptayabilmek için onları takip etmelidirler.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Behçet, psikiyatrik belirti, sıklık, SCL-90-R

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