Among 2201 public psychiatric patients evaluated for polydipsia (excessive ingestion of nonalcoholic beverages) there was a prevalence rate of 6.2%. Their mean age was 50.9 yr., being substantially younger than the comparable population of state patients, but predominantly chronic. Diagnoses were 73% schizophrenia, but mental retardation and alcoholism were also over-represented. Patients were predominantly white and almost 60% women. Almost one-quarter of the polydipsic patients met the diagnostic criteria for one or more instances of water intoxication.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BarahalH. S. (1938) Water intoxication in a mental case. Psychiatric Quarterly, 12, 767–771.
2.
BarlowE. D.DeWardenerH. E. (1959) Compulsive water drinking. Quarterly Journal of Medicine, 110, 235–258.
3.
BartterF. C.SchwartzW. B. (1967) The syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone. American Journal of Medicine, 42, 790–801.
4.
BeresfordH. R. (1970) Polydipsia, hydrochlorothiazide and water intoxication. JAMA, 214, 879–883.
5.
BlumA.TempeyF. W.LynchW. J. (1983) Somatic findings in patients with psychogenic polydipsia. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 44, 55–56.
6.
FeighnerJ. P.RobinsE.GuzeS. B.WoodruffR. A.Jr.WinokurG.MunozR. (1972) Diagnostic criteria for use in psychiatric research. Archives of General Psychiatry, 26, 57–63.
7.
GabrielliF. (1976) Compulsive water drinking and diabetes insipidus related to addictive water intake in a mood disturbance. Archivio di Psicologia, Neurologia e Psichiatria, 37, 525–543.
8.
HedlundJ. L.SlettenI. W.EvensonR. C.AltmanH.ChoD. W. (1977) Automated psychiatric information systems: a critical review of Missouri's Standard System of Psychiatry (SSOP). Journal of Operational Psychiatry, 8, 5–26.
9.
HoskinsR. G.SleeperF. H. (1933) Organic functions in schizophrenia. Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry, 30, 123–132.
10.
JosC. J. (1984) Seizures from self-induced water intoxication. Psychosomatics, 25, 153–157.
JosC. J.EvensonR. C.MallyaA. R. (1986) Self-induced water intoxication: a comparison of 34 cases with matched controls. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 47, 368–370.
13.
JosC. J.MehtaS.Perez-CruetJ. (1979) The syndrome of inappropriate secretion of anti-diuretic hormone: an overview. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 24, 225–231.
14.
JosC. J.Perez-CruetJ. (1979) Incidence and morbidity of self-induced water intoxication in state mental hospital patients. American Journal of Psychiatry, 136, 221–222.
15.
MogensonG. J. (1973) Hypothalamic limbic mechanisms in the control of water intake. In EpsteinA. N.KissliefH. R.StellarE. (Eds.), The neuropsychology of thirst: new findings and advances in concepts. Washington, DC: VH Winston.
16.
RendellM.McGraneD.CuestaM. (1978) Fatal compulsive water drinking. JAMA, 240, 2557–2559.
17.
ShenW. W.SataL. S. (1983) Hypothalamic dopamine receptor supersensitivity? a pilot study of self-induced water intoxication. Psychiatric Journal of the University of Ottawa, 8, 154–158.
18.
SleeperF. H.JellinekE. M. (1936) A comparative physiologic, psychologic and psychiatric study of polyuric and nonpolyutic schizophrenic patients. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorders, 83, 557–563.
19.
SmithW. O.ClarkM. L. (1980) Self-induced water intoxication in schizophrenic patients. American Journal of Psychiatry, 137, 1055–1060.
20.
WallsL. L.SupinskiC. R.CottonW. K.McFaddenJ. W. (1977) Compulsive water drinking: a review with report of an additional case. Journal of Family Practice, 5, 531–533.
