Birth order and psychiatric morbidity

Abstract

Objectives:

– to determine the frequency of sociodemographic factors (birth order)among subjects attending a psychiatric clinic;

– to establish psychiatric diagnosis of subjects;

– to bring out dominating frequencies of birth orders of the patient in relation with related diagnosis.

Methodology

This cross-sectional study was conducted at outpatient clinic of Liquate university hospital Hyderabad during 1st January 2012 to 31st January 2012. One hundred consecutive subjects attending a psychiatric OPD with psychiatric symptoms, were assessed for the total siblings, birth order among siblings and their psychiatric diagnosis. The socio-demographic data was recorded through a designed semi-structured proforma, and diagnosis was established by diagnostic and statistical manual-IV text revised criteria (DSM-IV TR).

Results

The age range remained 9-60 years and numbers of siblings were in the range of 1–12 siblings and fourth birth order was found to be dominant in this study to have psychiatric morbidity (38%). While, frequency of first order birth was 18%. Generalized anxiety disorder and depressive (GAD) disorders were dominant diagnosis (55%), while GAD was more in the male gender.

Conclusion

This study shows that psychiatric morbidity was more common in the lower birth order. This study may be carried out at different centers of psychiatry for the better assessment of psychiatric morbidity.

Disclosure of interest

The author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.