The two terms, pseudocyesis and delusion of pregnancy, were frequently used for pseudopregnancy. Delusion of pregnancy is a special form of hypochondriacal/somatic delusion reported in various psychiatric and organic disorders. The origin of the delusion of pregnancy in schizophrenia has often been explained by psycho-analytic interpretations attributing wish fulfilling, protective role to false beliefs, and mother establishes an undisturbed union with her fetus during pregnancy, which eliminate loneliness and helplessness. The current case is a 49-year-old married female with an illness of total duration of 10 years. Initial symptoms were delusion of infidelity and persecution and 2nd and 3rd person auditory hallucination; however, the patient started reporting around 2 years back that she was pregnant and there were three female children inside her abdominal cavity rather than in uterus. She was firm on this belief and was not convinced by family members even giving evidence contrary to her belief like showing ultrasonography report. She firmly believed that these are gift of God, and they are special children who would be delivered through special procedure. Blood investigation revealed raised prolactin level, blood sugar and ultra sonography suggestive of cholelithisis. Patient's psychiatric symptoms including delusion of pregnancy were significantly improved with treatment, and medical and surgical comorbidities were managed with appropriate consultations.
Aim:
To study the sociodemographic and clinical profile of subjects receiving disability certificates (DCs) issued for psychiatric disorders across multiple centres in India.
Materials and Methods:
Eleven centres, including ten government and one non-governmental organization spread across the country, participated in the study. Data on the sociodemographic and clinical profiles of patients who were issued DC in the calendar year 2019 were collected on a proforma designed for the study.
Results:
Overall, 2018 patients were issued DC for various psychiatric disorders across 11 centres in 2019. The number of certificates issued across different centres varied from 34 to 622. In terms of diagnostic profile, intellectual disability accounted for most of the certificates issued. In terms of psychiatric diagnosis, schizophrenia was the most common psychiatric diagnosis, followed by bipolar disorder, for which a DC was issued. When the diagnosis was considered, centre wise, intellectual disability (6 centres), mental illness (MI; 4 centres), and autism and specific learning disability (1 centre) accounted for the most DCs issued. Schizophrenia (9 centres), bipolar affective disorder (1 centre), and dementia (1 centre) were the most common MI for which DC was issued. Across centres, more than two-thirds of DC were issued to males.
Conclusion:
There is a wide variation in the number and clinical profile of DC issued across centres.
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