Hundred Years of Koro the History of a Culture-Bound Syndrome

Abstract

Koro was first reported in Western medical press in 1895. The original oriental culture-bound 'Koro' is now referred to as 'genital retraction syndrome' in the global literature. During this span of a century, the primary cultural etiological focus of Koro has also shifted towards the concept of disordered body-image perception. A review of the world Koro literature (English language journals and books) of varied ethnic groups, geographical regions and with different comorbidities, shows a fascinating history of its clinical and conceptual progress over the years. This is a brief discussion on the publication history of Koro over the last hundred years.