الفهرس 
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Abstract
In the realm of mental health, understanding the prevalence and patterns of psychiatric symptoms and disorders is crucial for effective diagnosis, treatment, and public health planning. A profound understanding of the intricate web of psychiatric symptoms and disorders is essential for providing effective care and guiding public health initiatives. With a focus on understanding the diverse manifestations of mental health issues, this study endeavors to contribute valuable insights to the field of psychiatry.
Psychiatric symptoms and disorders encompass a wide range of disturbances in thoughts and speech, emotions, memory, perceptions, experience of self, consciousness and personality disorders that affect an individual’s mental and emotional well-being. These conditions can vary in severity and they often interfere with daily functioning and quality of life.
The aims of present study:
The aim of this study is to determine the epidemiology of different psychiatric symptoms and disorders in psychiatry outpatient clinic at Alexandria Main University Hospital.
The study sample included all adult psychiatric patients who came to outpatient clinic during the period from 1st November 2021 to 31st of October 2022. There were 322 adult patients presenting with various psychiatric symptoms and disorders who attended the psychiatry outpatient clinic at Alexandria main university hospital.
Inclusion criteria
1. Patients presenting with psychiatric symptoms.
2. Patients referred for psychiatric evaluation.
All participants were subjected to the following:
1. Identification of psychiatric symptoms from the history of the patient.
2. Corroboration of history from informant.
3. Complete Mental State Examination.
4. Formulation of a diagnosis and management plan.
5. Filling the check list of symptoms for each patient shown in Appendix 1 as depicted in the methods section.
The findings were as follows:
1. There were a total of 322 cases studied, with 175 patients (54.3%) being male and 147 patients (45.7%) being female. The age distribution of the cases was as follows: 191 patients (59.3%) were between the ages of 20 and <30, 69 patients (21.4%) were between 30 and <40, 31 patients (9.6%) were between 40 and <50, and 31 patients (9.6%) were 50 years or older. The range of ages was from 18.0-85.0 years with a mean age of 33.57± 15.64 and a median age of 29.0 years (24.0-35.0).
2. In terms of the distribution of cases by duration of illness, 133 patients (41.3%) had a duration of less than 1 month, 62 patients (19.3%) had a duration between 1 and 2 months, and 127 patients (39.4%) had a duration of more than 2 months. The duration of illness of the cases studied ranged from 0.07- 240.0 months, with a mean of 9.55±19.80 and a median of 1.0(0.75-8.0).
3. The most frequently reported symptoms were sadness 91 patients (28.3%) reduced interest 79 patients (24.5%), delusions 71 patients (22.0%), fatigue 71 patients (22.0%), worthlessness 70 patients (21.7%) and hallucinations 64 patients (19.9%), Anxiety 59 patients (18.3%), Sweating 49 patients (15.2%), Agitation 43 patients (13.4%) and disorganized speech 42 patients (13.0%) while the least frequently reported symptoms were Sensory deficit 11 patients (3.4%), Rituals 11 patients (3.4%), Depersonalization 7 patients (2.2%), Disturbed Speech 5 patients (1.6%), Loss of insight 5 patients (1.6%) hypervigilance in 4 patients (1.2%), flashbacks 4 patients (1.2%), fear of dying 3 patients (0.9%), clouding of consciousness 2 patients (0.6%) and disturbed thinking 1 patient (0.03%).
4. The most frequent diagnoses were Major Depressive Disorder 82 patients (25.5%), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 52 patients (16.1%), Schizophrenia 30 patients (9.3%), Dementia of Alzheimer’s type 28 patients (8.7%), bipolar disorder: Manic Episode 25 patients (7.8%) and Conversion Disorder 23 patients (7.1%) while the least frequent diagnoses were Psychotic Disorder Secondary to Other Medical Condition (Epilepsy) 1 patient (0.3%), Somatic Symptom Disorder 1 patient (0.3%), Persistent Depressive Disorder 1 patient (0.3%) and bipolar disorder: Depressive Episode 1 patient (0.3%).
5. The diagnoses with significant statistical relationship with sex included Bereavement (p=0.049), Bipolar Disorder: Manic episode (p=<0.001), Brief Psychotic Episode (p=<0.001), Conversion disorder (p=0.005), Dementia of Alzheimer’s type (p= <0.001), Generalized anxiety disorder (p=<0.001), Major depressive disorder (p=<0.001), Obsessive compulsive disorder (p=0.002), Post-traumatic stress disorder (p=0.042), Schizophrenia (p=<0.001), Schizophreniform (p=0.017), Social anxiety disorder (p=0.009) and Substance induced psychosis (p=0.002). The diagnoses without significant statistical relationship with sex included ADHD Inattention Type (p=0.065), bipolar disorder: Depressive Episode (p=1.000), Delirium secondary to sepsis (p=0.502), Delusional disorder (p=0.502), panic disorder (p=0.502), Persistent depressive disorder (p=0.457), Psychotic disorder secondary to other medical condition (epilepsy) (p=1.000), Somatic symptom disorder (p= p=0.457) and Substance induced mood disorder (p=0.065) where P significant as P<0.05.
6. The symptoms with significant statistical relationship with sex included Sadness (p=<0.001), Delusion (p=<0.001), Hallucination (p=<0.001), Disorganized speech (p=<0.001), Negative symptoms (p=<0.001), Grandiosity (p=<0.001), Talkativeness (p=<0.001), Flight of ideas (p=<0.001), Distractibility (p=<0.001), Agitation (p=<0.001), Reduced interest (p=<0.001), Decreased weight (p=<0.001), Hypersomnia (p=0.010), Fatigue (p=<0.001), Worthlessness (p=<0.001), Guilt (p=<0.001), Anxiety (p=<0.001), Increased muscle tension (p=<0.001), Shaking tremors (p=<0.001), Dizziness (p=0.001), Nausea (p=0.006), Sweating (p=<0.001), Fear losing control/ crazy (p=<0.001), Motor deficit (p=<0.001), Seizures/convulsions (p=0.040), Disorientation (p=0.041), Impaired attention (p=<0.001), Reduced concentration (p=0.007), Disturbed memory (p=<0.001), Disturbed judgement (p=<0.001), Hypervigilance (p=0.042), Flashbacks (p=0.042), Obsessions (p=<0.001), Compulsions (p=<0.001) and Rituals (p=0.002) where P significant as P<0.05.
7. The diagnoses with significant statistical relationship with age included Bereavement (p=0.040), Bipolar disorder: Manic episode (p=0.036), Delirium secondary to sepsis (p=0.017), Dementia of Alzheimer’s type (p=<0.001), Generalized anxiety disorder (p=0.020), Major depressive disorder (p=0.001) and Schizophrenia (p=<0.001). The diagnoses without significant statistical relationship with age included ADHD inattention type (p=0.594), Bipolar Disorder: Depressive episode (p=0.413), Brief psychotic episode (p=0.207), Conversion disorder (p=0.125), Delusional disorder (p=0.646), Obsessive compulsive disorder (p=0.387), Panic disorder (p=0.644), Post-traumatic stress disorder (p=0.695), Persistent Depressive Disorder (p=0.198), Psychotic disorder secondary to other medical condition (epilepsy) (p=1.000), Schizophreniform (p=0.291), Social anxiety disorder (p=0.910), Somatic symptom disorder (p=1.000), Substance induced mood disorder (p=1.000) and Substance induced psychosis (p=0.414) where P significant as P<0.05.