Characteristics of Child and Adolescent Populations Visiting a Public Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinic in Bahrain: A 30-Year Comparative Analysis

Objectives: The present study compared the population profile of patients attending a public child and adolescent psychiatric clinic in Bahrain from 2011 to 2012 with files from 1981 to 1982 for the same clinic with the view to identifying changes in bio demographic data and diagnostic categories. Method: A retrospective study based on patient files, the data for age, gender, source of referral, social class and diagnosis were extracted and entered into a special form. There were no exclusion criteria. Results: Compared with the 1981 population, cases from 2012 were generally below 12 years of age (60% vs. 40%) with lower mean age (7.3 yr. vs. 13.1%), were predominantly boys (70.9% vs. 54.4%) and mainly middle class (class 3= 49.1% vs. 16.4%). Referrals in 2102 were more likely to be by family or primary care physicians than teachers (59% vs. 50.2%, 27.3% vs. 17.9%). Differences in age group, gender, source of referral and social class were statistically significant (P=0.000). As regards diagnosis, the 2012 population highlighted an increase in diagnostic categories, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), autism, pervasive developmental disorder and selective mutism. There was a decrease in referrals of cases with conduct disorder and anxiety disorder. Conclusion: Thirty years of practice in child psychiatry showed more referrals of young children with ADHD and autism and fewer referrals of adolescents with conduct disorder and anxiety. Families and primary care physicians were the main source of referral at each time point. Changes in trends of diagnosis, referral pattern and age distribution of cases were discussed.