Abstract
The charts of 100 adolescents admitted to a special unit of a provincial psychiatric hospital were reviewed. These patients primarily had a conduct disorder (71.6% of boys and 77.5% of girls) or an affective disorder (6.6% of boys, 15.0% of girls). There was a higher incidence of congenital disorders in the population than expected, suggesting that such disorders may predispose to psychological troubles later in life. Convulsions also occurred more often in this population.
Most patients (78.3% of boys and 85.0% of girls) had one or more medical diagnoses. Several potentially serious findings (anemia, pregnancy, hepatomegaly, thyroiditis) were first noted on the admission physical examination. Patients with conduct disorder had certain health problems that are likely to be the result of the psychiatric disorder, such as liver function changes in drug and alcohol abusers and abnormal Pap smears in sexually active girls with multiple partners. If these medical conditions are not followed and treated, they have the potential for causing serious problems at a later date. These findings point out the continued need for the expertise of psychiatrists and other physicians in children's mental health facilities.