oa Socio-demographic characteristics and outcome of delusional disorders in Qatar

Records of 57 patients with Delusional Disorder were examined retrospectively between 1990-1996 to identify patients who metDSM-III-R criteria for Delusional Disorder. Six patients were excluded from the study because they did not fulfill the diagnostic criteria. Of the remaining 51 patients, 31 patients were followed prospectively for a minimum of four clinical interviews extending over a period of 18 months. Comparisons were made between socio-demographic characteristics and types of delusion and between outcome and types of delusion. No significant difference was found in comparing the socio-demographic variables with types of delusion. But there was a significant difference when comparing types of delusion with outcome. At the last follow-up, full recovery was achieved in 27.5% , modest improvement in 25.5%, mild improvement in 5.9%, 15.7% were still deluded and 25.5% with unknown outcome because they had lost contact with the services.