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Polydipsia and water intoxication in 353 psychiatric inpatients: an epidemiological and psychopathological study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

E. Mercier-Guidez  and
G. Loas
E. Mercier-Guidez*
Affiliation:
University Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Philippe Pinel,80044Amiens cedex 01, France
G. Loas
Affiliation:
University Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Philippe Pinel,80044Amiens cedex 01, France
*
*Correspondence and reprints
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Abstract

Introduction

According to several authors, water intoxication can lead to irreversible brain damage and could be the cause of nearly a fifth of the deaths of schizophrenic patients below the age of 53 years. The aim of our study was first to determine the prevalence of polydipsia and water intoxication in a population of psychiatric inpatients of a well-defined French geographic area (the Somme), and secondly to determine the clinical and socio-demographic factors associated with this disorder.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was done on the 450 psychiatric beds whose catchment area had a total population of 559,429 inhabitants. Using staff reports and patients’ charts, the drinking habits of 353 psychiatric inpatients hospitalised during the survey in the 450 psychiatric beds of this area were examined.

Results

Thirty-eight patients (10.76%; 95% confidence interval: 7.53–13.99%) among the 353 inpatients were polydipsic. About one-third of these patients were at risk of water intoxication. Polydipsia appeared to be significantly associated with male gender, smoking, celibacy and chronicity. The polydipsic patients presented also a high prevalence of schizophrenia, mental retardation, pervasive developmental disorders and high frequency of somatic disorders.

Keywords

epidemiologypolydipsiapsychogenic polydipsiapsychosisschizophreniawater intoxication
Type
Original Article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 15 , Issue 5 , August 2000 , pp. 306 - 311
Copyright
Copyright © Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS 2000

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