title: Psychiatric morbidity in patients with transverse myelitis and stroke: A comparison.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Psychiatric morbidity may be highly prevalent in transverse myelitis (TM), but data on this aspect are limited.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess psychiatric morbidity in a clinical sample of patients with idiopathic TM compared to patients with a recent stroke.
  
  
  METHODS
  Consecutive patients with idiopathic TM and stroke (30 each) underwent two-stage screening with the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) and Structured Clinical Interview for Axis I DSM-IV Disorders - Clinician Version (SCID I-CV), and ratings of depression, disability levels, and cognitive impairment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy percent of the patients with TM scored above the cut-off on the GHQ; 30% had a positive diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder. Major depression (17%) was the commonest psychiatric disorder. Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores indicated cognitive impairment in 23% of patients with TM. Higher GHQ-12 scores were associated with greater disability. These results were similar to those obtained among patients with stroke.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A high prevalence of psychological distress and psychiatric morbidity was found in idiopathic TM. This morbidity was associated with greater disability.
authors: Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
authors: Raman
authors: R
authors: Baweja
authors: Ajit
authors: A
authors: Avasthi
authors: Subho
authors: S
authors: Chakrabarti
authors: Sudesh
authors: S
authors: Prabhakar
keywords: Psychiatric morbidity; stroke; transverse myelitis