Patterns of child and adolescent mental health disorders: Nine-year findings from a tertiary specialised clinic in Bangladesh
Keywords:
child, adolescent, mental disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, BangladeshAbstract
Background: Evidence on the sociodemographic and clinical profiles of child and adolescent psychiatric patients in Bangladesh is limited. The objectives of this study were to explore demographic and clinical characteristics, proportion of psychiatric disorders and associations between sociodemographic factors and psychiatric diagnoses among clinic-based.
Methods: A retrospective document review was conducted using clinical records of patients attending the Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) clinic, Department of Psychiatry, Bangladesh Medical University. Records of 1,266 patients attending from January 2016 to December 2024 were reviewed. Sociodemographic, clinical, developmental and referral characteristics were analysed. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) criteria was used for diagnosis and data were analysed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests and binary logistic regression.
Results: The mean age was 9.7 years, 78.4% were under 11 years and 68.6% were boy. Most patients were from Dhaka division (78.9%) and referred from the psychiatry outpatient department (93.5%). Neurodevelopmental disorders were the most common diagnostic category (40.3%), followed by behavioural disorders (26.9%). Behavioural and neurodevelopmental disorders were higher in boys and younger children, whereas emotional, dissociative, and conversion disorders were significantly more common among girls. Birth complications was significant predictor of general (odds ratio, 2.9; 95% confidence interval, 2.2–3.9) and specific (odds ratio 2.9; 95% confidence interval, 2.2–3.7) developmental delay.
Conclusion: This study reveals a substantial burden of neurodevelopmental and behavioural disorders among children attending CAMH services in a tertiary care hospital in Bangladesh. Birth complications are strongly associated with developmental delay. This highlighting the need for early identification, and improved perinatal care.
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