Seasonal pattern of psychiatry service utilization in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Background:Seasonal and monthly variations in utilization of psychiatric services have been inadequately studied in India.Aims:This study sought to determine the pattern of psychiatric services utilization by patients with four broad categories of diagnosis (mood disorders (F30-39): neurotic stress-related and somatoform disorders (F40-48), schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorders (F20-29) and mental and behavioral disorders due to psychoactive substance use (F10-19) in different seasons and months of the last six years.Materials and Methods:We conducted a teaching hospital data-based study of new patients diagnosed with psychiatric illness in the department of psychiatry, Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh. Four diagnostic groups consisting of 12058 psychiatric patients who had been diagnosed and treated in the department of psychiatry of this institute from 1999-2004 were included in this evaluation. Bed occupancy rate (BOR), average length of stay (ALOS) of inpatients and seasonal index were determined. Information about weather variables (mean daily temperature, mean rainfall) was collected from the meterological department of Chandigarh.Results:Psychiatric services were utilized by 31.1% of patients with mood disorders in the summer and by 34.23% of patients with neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders in the autumn. Statistical analysis revealed significant difference in new cases of these two groups of disorders in different seasons.Conclusion:Our study showed a significant relationship between utilization of psychiatric patients especially with mood disorders and neurotic, stress related and somatoform disorders with season (summer and autumn respectively).

Relationship Between Ambient Temperature and Humidity and Visits to Mental Health Emergency Departments in Québec

“…A study in Israel found that psychiatric admissions for patients with schizophrenia were higher in the summer and that admission rates were correlated with the mean maximal monthly temperature (4). Similarly, a study from India reported higher psychiatric service use in summer and autumn, especially by patients with mood disorders, when temperatures were highest (11).…”

Assessment of performance of services in a tertiary care Neuropsychiatric Institute using Pabon Lasso Model

“…Some studies performed previously examined one or two performance indicators in piecemeal such as bed utilisation indices, 12 BOR and ALS. 13 Although single indicator is easy to use but may lead to misleading results. 14 For example, high BOR may not necessarily indicate optimal utilisation of beds which signifies good performance, rather may indicate long term unnecessary hospitalisation of patient or poor nursing care, delayed diagnostic and therapeutic interventions or development of hospital acquired infections.…”

Metereological conditions and psychiatric emergency visits in Messina, Italy

“…The number of psychiatric beds occupied during the study period exhibited a significant seasonal variation suggesting that short-term fluctuations in atmospheric activity may dictate some of the periodicities in psychiatric psychopathology. A study showed a relationship between seasonal visits in the summer and fall and the number of of patients with mood disorders, neurotic stress-related and somatoform disorders recorded (Singh et al, 2007). A review about seasonal affective disorder (SAD), described, thoroughly byboth retrospective and prospective studies, the actuality of seasonal variation in mood and that, in the general population, depressive symptoms peak in winter, and the most extreme form of this disposition, SAD, appears to be a relatively common disorder (Magnusson, 2000).…”