ABSTRACT

Aim: To determine the frequency and risk factors of violence in inpatients who have schizophrenia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed in which 115 Schizophrenia patients were enrolled admitted to the Department of Psychiatry Services Hospital. Patients were evaluated for the act of violence among patients of schizophrenia by using DSM IV criteria. The acts of violence were recorded on a self-devised Performa. The serum lipid profile for all the patients was evaluated by the enzymatic method. The obtained data were coded and analyzed using SPSS version 24 (IBM). Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was applied to calculate percentages, mean with standard deviation, and relationship with the violence.

Results: Results of this study indicate that the mean age of patients was 26.28±6.02years. There were 54(47%) males and 61 (53%) females. There were 40(35%) illiterate, 44(38%) were middle pass, while 31 (27%) had education matric or above, and 50% patients who belonged to low socioeconomic status. The mean level of cholesterol was high in these patients, and the act of violence was observed in 41(35.7%) cases. The most common act was psychomotor agitation followed by rage and damaged furniture. There is no association of age, gender, socioeconomic status, and education with the act of violence in these patients. The only significant association was found with the paranoid type of disease (p = 0.001) and low cholesterol level (p = 0.01).

Conclusion: The frequency of violence is high in patients with schizophrenia in the local population. The risk factor associated with act of violence is paranoid schizophrenia and biological marker like low cholesterol level.

Keywords: Violence, Schizophrenia, Psychiatry, DSM IV.