Workshop: ‘Political anarchy major cause of schizophrenia’

Health experts stress on medical treatment through qualified doctors.

PESHAWAR:

Social and economic disorders, political anarchy and terrorism are a major cause behind increase in number of schizophrenia patients. This was the consensus among health experts during a training session on prevention and treatment of schizophrenia. The training was held under the auspices of Horizon, a non-governmental organisation, at Ibadat Hospital on Monday.

The four-day training workshop was participated in by 50 doctors and psychiatrists from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), Lahore and Islamabad, during which they shared their expertise with the participants.

Addressing the audience, Horizon Chairman Dr Khalid Mufti said that one per cent of the world’s population was suffering from the disease, while over 1.4 million people in Pakistan having schizophrenia.

“During the last 30 years, Ibadat Hospital has provided treatment to 24,000 schizophrenia patients, in addition to providing free medical counselling and medication to 600 patients,” said Mufti.

He explained that the disease was diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 35, and about six per cent of the patients had the courage to bear with the severity of the disease. “Suicide rate among schizophrenia patients are also very high due to severe depression,” he added.

“The situation in developing countries is worse than developed countries, where over 90 per cent of patients start using narcotics due to lack of medical treatment. This in turn causes more vulnerability in their lives,” said the chairman.

He also said that patients usually go for non-medical treatments, which increase their suffering. He urged participants to spread awareness among patients and encourage them to seek treatment from qualified doctors.

World Health Organisation representatives Dr Minhas and Dr Saeed gave a briefing to the participants, in which they revealed that the disease could be treated through proper counselling and medication, adding that nearly half of the patients recover from the disease with the passage of time.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 4^th, 2011.