Sex distribution and psychiatric features of child and adolescent conversion disorder across 2 decades.
BACKGROUND
Earlier research suggested female predominance in adult conversion disorder, and the strong association between conversion disorder and experiences of being abused is well known. However, the data for child and adolescent populations are limited. In Taiwan, the dramatic increase in child abuse may have some impact on the features of child and adolescent conversion disorder. This study aimed to compare the demographic characteristics, psychiatric comorbidity, and experiences of being abused in Taiwanese children and adolescents diagnosed with conversion disorder in psychiatric consultations across 2 decades.


METHODS
Retrospective and consecutive chart reviews were conducted for child and adolescent patients (< 20 years old) who were newly diagnosed with conversion disorder in psychiatric consultations at Taipei Veterans General Hospital from 1987 to 2006. The first group included patients who were diagnosed between 1987 and 1996 (the first decade), and the second group included patients who were diagnosed between 1997 and 2006 (the second decade).


RESULTS
A total of 42 patients diagnosed with conversion disorder were included in this study. Nineteen of the 42 subjects were diagnosed in the first decade (from 1987 to 1996), and 23 in the second decade (from 1997 to 2006). There existed among patients a tendency toward an increasing number of male subjects (p < 0.05), suffering more abuse (p < 0.05), and higher prevalence rates of depression and dysthymia comorbidity (p < 0.05) in the second decade compared to the first.


CONCLUSIONS
The sex distribution in conversion disorder might have significantly changed over the past 2 decades. There is an increasing need for screening and interventions for psychiatric comorbidity and experiences of being abused in children and adolescents with conversion disorder. Because of the small sample size of our study, further studies that include multiple study sites and a larger number of patients are needed before a firm conclusion can be drawn.
Huang
Kai-Lin
KL
Department of Psychiatry, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
Su
Tung-Ping
TP
Lee
Ying-Chiao
YC
Bai
Ya-Mei
YM
Hsu
Ju-Wei
JW
Yang
Cheng-Hung
CH
Chen
Ying-Shue
YS
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse; D015897:Comorbidity; D003291:Conversion Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution