Hallucinations, delusions common in schizophrenia

Updated March 20, 2008 - 12:00am

0 2 googleplus0 0
Schizophrenia, a form of psychosis, is characterized by impairments in the perception or
expression of reality. The patient may experience hallucinations, delusions or
disorganization in speech and in the thinking process. It usually occurs in young
adulthood and affects approximately one percent of the population.
Schizophrenia occurs equally in males and females although it typically appears earlier
in men with the peak ages of onset being 1525 years for males and 2535 years for
females, said Dr. Rodney Dalisay.
Local figures are unavailable but Philippine Health Statistics said authorities are alarmed
at the increasing suicide rate in the country. In 2000 alone, there were 1.8 deaths from
suicide per 100,000 population. Experts say suicide is common in people with
schizophrenia.
According to the World Health Organization, schizophrenia is one of the top 10 causes of
disabilities in developed countries.
A disability survey made by the National Statistics Office (NSO) showed it is among the
third most common form of disabilities with a prevalence rate of 88 cases per 100,000
population.
The region with the highest prevalence rate is Southern Tagalog at 132.9 cases per
100,000 population, followed by NCR at 130.8 per 100,000 population and Central
Luzon at 88.2 per 100,000 population, the NSO revealed.
Compounding the problem is the stigma associated with schizophrenia. Patients are
unfairly labeled as psycho or wacko and depicted by the media as violent.
Such negative labels are bad for patients who are forced to hide their symptoms and shun
medical treatment for fear of being mocked or scorned.
Some people also believe that if you have (schizophrenia), you must be dangerous and
unpredictable. This perception is often inflamed by media accounts of crime, although
statistics dont bear out a connection between mental illness and violence. Some people
also believe that those with mental illness are less competent, unable to work, should be
institutionalized or will never get better, the Mayo Clinic said.
As a result of such stigma, (schizophrenia) remains the butt of jokes in popular culture.
Negative portrayals of people with mental illnesses fuel fear and mistrust and reinforce
distorted perceptions, leading to even more stigma, the Mayo Clinic added.

One famous victim of schizophrenia was the Nobel Laureate mathematician John Forbes
Nash Jr. who was portrayed by Russell Crowe in the critically acclaimed film, A
Beautiful Mind.
The story tells of Nashs early days at Princeton University where he meets his roommate
Charles and his niece Marcee. Nash is later approached by Department of Defense agent
William Parcher to help the Pentagon decipher secret messages to thwart a Soviet plot. At
the end of the movie, we learn that all three people never existed and are products of
Nashs troubled mind.
Syd Barrett, a founding member of the rock band Pink Floyd, was a brilliant musician
whose musical career was cut short by schizophrenia. His first album influenced
generations of musicians and made him a superstar.
As the disease progressed, however, Barrett suffered from weird thoughts, odd behavior,
bizarre actions, disorganized thinking, and catatonia. He withdrew from public view at
the age of 28 and stayed home until his death at age 60.
Although there is no cure for schizophrenia, effective treatments have been developed to
help patients live normal and productive lives. To educate patients and their families
about this disorder, Otsuka (Philippines) Pharmaceuticals Inc. recently opened a Light
Ones Life: A Patient Quality of Life Program.
This helpline provides more information on schizophrenia as well as treatment options.
The helpline will direct callers to specialists who can help them.
For more information, call 811-4723 for Metro Manila and 1-800-1888-4723 for
provincial calls.
Phil star

Study: Schizophrenia has many genetic links

July 25, 2014
Share1 Tweet1 Share0 Email0 Share8
New York, New York, United States More than 100 locations on the human genome
may play a role in a persons risk of developing schizophrenia, according to a new study.
While the results do not have an immediate effect on those living with the psychiatric
disorder, one of the studys authors said they open areas of research that had not seen
advances in recent years.
The exciting thing about having little openings is it gives you a place to dig and make
big openings, said Steve McCarroll, director of genetics for the Stanley Center for

Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

McCarroll is part of the Schizophrenia Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics
Consortium, which published the study in the journal Nature.
About 1 percent of Americans have schizophrenia, according to the National Institutes of
Health. The disorders symptoms, which include hallucinations and delusions, often
begin between peoples teenage years and their late-20s. It often includes psychotic
experiences, such as hearing voices or delusions.
While the exact cause is unknown, research to date suggests a combination of physical,
genetic, psychological and environmental factors can make people more likely to develop
it.
Researchers have long believed genetics play an important role in a persons
schizophrenia risk, because about 10 percent of those with a parent or sibling living with
schizophrenia also have the disorder.
In the new study, the researchers identified 108 locations on the human genome that are
tied to schizophrenia risk by comparing the genomes of more than 80,000 people with
and without the disorder.
Every one of us has dozens of these variants, McCarroll said. Schizophrenia patients
on average have more than unaffected individuals but thats only true on average, not
every individual case.
Of those 108 locations, the researchers write that 83 had not been previously linked to
schizophrenia.
Some of the genes found to be linked to schizophrenia risk include those that have also
been tied to how brain cells communicate with each other and to learning and memory.
The new findings support the use of some existing treatments for the symptoms of
schizophrenia and researchers hope they may point to other more comprehensive
treatments.
The goal is obviously to understand the disease process and develop treatments, said
Dr. Steve Hyman, director of the Stanley Center.
Read more at http://www.mb.com.ph/study-schizophrenia-has-many-geneticlinks/#oi8MDFZGayDJuIEQ.99
Manilla bullitin
2. The Problem of Mental Health in the Philippines
Edit 0 29

Guidelines for contributions:

How severe is the problem of mental health in the country today?
What research efforts can we cite to prove the state of mental health in the
country?
Looking at the past, how has the government fared in managing the problem of
mental health?
What are the prevalent cases of mental illnesses in the country and their causes?
Do we see a trend in the severity or improvement of mental health among
Filipinos over the past years?
Mindset:
The result of research here should help us form our opinion on the relevance of
Bill 6679 to the current state and whether its purpose is right on the dot in
addressing these problems.
Research by Adrian Jeric Pena:
In a disability survey conducted by the National Statistics Office in 2000, the
survey revealed that mental illness is the "third most common form of disability"
after visual and hearing impairments. The study conducted in 2000 also said that

there is an average of 88 reported cases of mental illness per 100,000 Filipinos.

In a separate study by the Social Weather Stations, it was said that 0.7% of the
total household in the Philippines during the year, 2004, have a member with
mental disability. The most reported cases of mental illness are often linked with
familial or hereditary mental disorders including schizophrenia alongside with
mental illness linked with psychosocial development. Also in the Philippines, it
was noted that substance abuse (narcotic drugs, other chemicals, etc.) are the
leading direct and indirect causes of mental illness. What is more surprising is
that a World Health Organization study revealed that in three primary health
centers in Manila, one out of 5 adults and one out of 10 children ages 5 to 15
consulting to these centers have mental disorders (Department of Health, 2005).
Reference:
Department of Health, (2005). National Objectives for Health Philippines 20052010. Manila, Philippines: Department of Health.
= Research by Frank Trazo
(http://www2.doh.gov.ph/noh2007/NOHWeb32/NOHperSubj/Chap4/MentalHM
D.pdf )
I think my research was the same as the previous one. I'll research more about
mental health.
Mental Health and Mental Disorders
The WHO defines mental health as a state of well being that enables a person to
realize
his or her own abilities to cope with the normal stresses of life. It emphasizes
that mental health is more than just the absence of psychiatric disorder or illness
but also includes a positive state of mental well being.
Mental illness is not a fatal disease. Even those who have been mentally ill for
most of
their lives rarely die of mental illness.
However, there is a growing concern for the increasing trend of mortality rate
from suicide and self-inflicted injuries which has reached a level of 1.8 deaths
per 100,000 population in 2000 (PHS).
The public health impact of mental illness lies in the fact that it can cause
disability for prolonged periods. In a disability survey by the National Statistics
Office in 2000, it was found that mental illness is the third most common form
of disability after visual and hearing impairments. In this survey, the prevalence
rate of mental illness in the Philippines was 88 cases per 100,000 population in
2000. The region with the highest prevalence rate of mental illness is Southern
Tagalog at 132.9 cases per 100,000 population, followed by NCR at 130.8 per
100,000 population and Central Luzon at 88.2 per 100,000 population.
This report is strengthened by the Social Weather Stations Survey commissioned
by DOH in June 2004 which revealed that 0.7 percent of total households have a
family member with mental disability. In another study, the Baseline Survey for

the National Objectives for Health (BSNOH) conducted in 2000, the more
frequently reported symptoms of mental health problem cited by the sampled
household respondents were excessive sadness, confusion and forgetfulness, no
control over the use of cigarettes and alcohol, and delusions. Excessive sadness,
forgetfulness and confusion increase with age while cigarette and alcohol abuse
affect adults and adolescents more than they do the older persons. The
prevalence of mental illness,
since it can be chronic, is reportedly highest among the older age groups.
Related to mental illness is the problem of drug abuse. The Dangerous Drugs
Board in 1998 estimated that there are about 1.8 million regular users and 1.6
million occasional users of dangerous drugs in the country or around 2.5 percent
regular users and 2.2 percent occasional users. The first dangerous drug of
choice is methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu and the second is marijuana.
Other predisposing factors in the development of mental illness include familial
or
hereditary mental disorders like schizophrenia, and disorders related to
psychosocial
development. Some mental illnesses are due to inability to cope with stress
brought
about by daily living such as migration, urbanization, industrialization, poverty
and
abuses. The distressing experiences of vulnerable population like children and
other
persons in difficult circumstances can make them susceptible to mental illness.
Persons who are socially deprived are least likely to obtain help for mental and
physical
trauma, according to a United Nations report. About two thirds of people known
to have
mental disorders do not obtain help from health professionals. TheWHO
identified that
stigma, discrimination and neglect have prevented care and management from
reaching persons with mental disorders.
Psychiatric patients in the Philippines are usually managed in a mental hospital
setting.
There is now a shift in the management of persons with mental disorders at
psychiatric
wards in university and private hospitals. Community-based mental health care
is also
encouraged.
Several policies were made to address mental health and mental disorders in the
country.
Since substance abuse is the leading direct and indirect cause of mental illness
among the economically productive age group, the passage of RA 9165
(Comprehensive
Dangerous Drugs Act) would impact positively on the control of mental illness
in the

country. In 2001, the National Mental Health Policy was issued by the DOH,
prescribing
the framework toward the attainment of optimum state of mental health for all
Filipinos.
The policy aims to raise the professional and public awareness that mental
health is an
integral component of total health care. The National Mental Health Policy
needs to be
translated into action programs by the various partner agencies with the DOH
taking the
lead in mobilizing partners and ensuring implementation.
The social stigma associated with mental illness is a major cause for non-use of
health
and psychosocial services by Filipinos. The lack of understanding of mental
illness and
the importance of mental health among Filipinos is as serious as the lack of a
regular and useful database on the prevalence, manifestations, causation and risk
factors of mental illness in the country.
Kathleen Toribio
Study data regarding the prevalence of mental illness in the Philippines:
Philippine Mental Health Country Profile.pdf
_
Lubao study (1970s) 10.8%17.2% of adults and 18.6%29% of children
consulting a health center were found to have psychiatric problems
75% of mental illnesses presenting at health centers were
not recognized by the health workers
Sapang palay study Results showed a prevalence of mental illness in
12 per 1000 people (the internationally recognized rate is 1/1000)
If the above data were extrapolated (taking into account that the Philippines has
a population of over 60 million), then the
figures of mentally ill people according to the Lubao data would exceed
2,460,00 and 720,000 according to the Sapang Palay
data. The differences between these two rates is that the Lubao study included
mild cases of mental illness whereas the
Sapang Palay study restricted its data to those with moderate to severe mental
illness. The above data only pertains to those who are identified as having a
psychiatric illness and not those who may have psychosocial or minor
psychiatric problems.
Another study of the WHO shows a Philippine study conducted in 3 primary
health centers situated in an urban slum in Manila. The study showed that 17%
of adults and 16% of children have mental disorders. In 1993-1994, a population
survey by the University of the Philippines Psychiatrists foundation Inc, in
collaboration with the Regional Office garnered the following results: The

prevalence of mental disorders was 35%. The three most frequent diagnoses
were : psychosis (4.3%), anxiety (14.3%) and panic (5.6%). For children and
adolescents, the top 5 most prevalent psychiatric conditions were: enuresis
(9.3%), mental subnormality (3.7%), adaptations reaction (2.4%) and neurotic
disorder (1.1%).
Junalyn Camacho
Just want to add a graphical data on the researches of Jeric and Frank:

Reference: Department of Health, (2005). National Objectives for Health

Philippines 2005-2010. Manila, Philippines: Department of Health.

HOW SEVERE IS THE PROBLEM OF MENTAL HEALTH IN THE

COUNTRY TODAY?
House Bill 6679 states that according to WHO study, one out of five adults and
one out of ten children of ages 5 to 15 years old have diagnosable psychiatric
disorders.
At the GMA News online hub, there is was an article entitled "1 in 5 adult
Pinoys have psychiatric disorders. It further says that more people are
developing mental disorders due to extreme life experiences. Dr Lourdes
Ladrido-Ignacio, a former president of the Philippine Psychiatric Association,
said between 17 to 20 percent of the countrys adult population have psychiatric
disorders.
About 10 to 15 percent of children aged 5 to 15 are believed to have mental
problems.
Ladrido-Ignacio also noted that in remote barrios without doctors, 50 percent of
adults who consult at rural health centers were diagnosed to have some form of
psychological illness.
The National Statistics Offices 2000 disability ranked mental illness as the third
most common form of morbidity, or type of disease, after visual and hearing
impairments among Filipinos.
The same survey showed that 88 Filipinos out of every 100,000 population with
mental problems.
In 2004, a DOH-commissioned Social Weather Stations survey found that 0.7
percent of total Filipino households have a family member who has a
psychological disorder such as depression, schizophrenia, epilepsy, and
substance abuse.
The World Health Organization defines mental health as a state of well-being
that allows a person to realize his or her own abilities to cope with the normal
stresses of life.
The Department of Health, meanwhile, said extreme life experiences" such as
natural disasters, armed conflict, and the increasing number of family members
going abroad to work have contributed to more Filipinos developing mental
disorders.
Weve tried to identify the components that could influence the mental status of
a person and we found that life experiences such as disasters and armed conflict
(affect ones state of mind)," said Dr. Yolanda Oliveros, director of the National
Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
Oliveros said addressing mental illness as a public health concern remains as a

challenge since there are only 400 licensed psychiatrists practicing in the
country.
Thats why we are telling them to decentralize, to train general practitioners
and healthcare providers since these people are (in the frontline) of primary
care," she said.
Reference: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/52861/1-in-5-adult-Pinoys-havepsychiatric-disorders
Junalyn Camacho
WHAT ARE THE PREVALENT CASES OF MENTAL ILLNESSES IN THE
COUNTRY AND THEIR CAUSES?
Schizophrenia
"It (cases of mental illness) increases as the population increases. For example
for schizophrenia, if we are now 88 million, expect that 880,000 of us are
schizophrenic," Reyes said at a recent health forum.
Dr. Lourdes Ignacio, president of the Philippine Psychiatrists' Association, said
some of the factors that trigger the disease include stress factors like traffic, loss
of loved ones, disasters and even bombings.
Among overseas Filipino workers, Ignacio said seamen were found to be the
most vulnerable to mental disorders because they tend to rely on alcohol or
drugs to ease their homesickness.
Reyes explained that the increase in the incidence of mental illness was also due
to the widespread use of prohibited drugs.
He said the Dangerous Drugs Board recently released data, which shows that
eight million Filipinos are drug users.
"Drug addicts or substance abusers have dual diagnosis: substance addiction or
substance dependence, and psychiatric disorder whether its depression,
anxiety," Reyes said, adding that these patients become drug addicts because
they are self-medicating.
"Some of the statistics in the hospital would say that yes, they started as saying
they have psychiatric disorder but they end up being addicts. These factors add
up to the mental health of the Philippines," he said. However, Ignacio said
Filipinos have their own natural coping mechanism compared to other
nationalities. She said Filipinos strong faith in God, sense of humor and concern
for others, are among the mechanisms that help them cope with depression. "We
are very much crisis-oriented and we have natural ways of coping with it," she
said. Ignacio said they consider these as forms of coping with mental disorders
even without scientific basis. Reyes said some mental patients could function
normally again after being treated. "Of course, for example, a bank manager

suffered from schizophrenia, he or she cannot go back as a bank manager, but as

a clerk. There is some form of regression but in terms of symptoms, they are free
from symptoms, but their functioning has already regressed in some form," he
said. On the other hand, Ignacio revealed that the Philippines is facing an acute
shortage of psychiatrists due to the unabated migration of mental health doctors
who seek greener pastures abroad. She said there are only 400 psychiatrists in
the country, and most them are in the National Capital Region. Ignacio said the
provinces of Cotabato and Surigao, in particular, lack the service of
psychiatrists.
According to Reyes, some of the symptoms of schizophrenia include a change in
behavior, forgetting basic functions such as in personal hygiene, social and
occupational dysfunction like when the person does not want to go back to
work.
Reference: http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=103178

(by Janice M. Cabusas)

A Philippine study conducted in three primary health centers in urban slum in
Manila in 1993-1994 showed that 17 % of adults and 16 % of children had
mental disorders. Prevalence of mental health disorders was at 35%. A study
conducted by the University of the Philippines Department of Psychiatry in the
rural areas in 1989 yielded similar findings, where 34% of those with mental
disorders had social problems.
The three most frequent diagnoses among the adults were: psychosis (4.3%),
anxiety (14.3%) and panic (5.6%). For children and adolescents, the top five
most prevalent psychiatric conditions were: enuresis (9.3%), speech and
language disorder (3.9%), mental sub-normality
(3.7%), adaptation reaction (2.4%) and neurotic disorder (1.1%)[[#_edn2|[ii]]]
A study performed in the 1970s even showed that 12 out of 1000 Filipinos have
severe mental disorder, quite an alarming rate if compared with the
internationally recognized rate of 1/1000.[[#_edn3|[iii]]]
In the past three decades, Filipinos have been exported as work force abroad in
the light of economic justifications to support their families. Of the 7.76 million
Filipinos overseas in 197 countries, 2.86 million immigrants or permanent
residents, 3.38 million documented OFWs, and 1.5 million irregularly
documented overseas workers. 75% of these workers are women, majority of
which work as domestic helpers in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Taiwan,
UAE, Hong Kong and Kuwait. (Incidentally, these countries have not ratified
the Migrant Workers Convention; and only Kuwait has ratified he International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which embodies the right to
health).[[#_edn4|[iv]]]

Despite the alleviation from poverty due to increase of dollar remittances to their
families, OFWs face a wide range of health-related problems,[[#_edn5|[v]]]
including and more importantly, in mental health, while performing their jobs
away from their loved ones.
Seafarers, mostly male workers, find it most difficult during long periods of
isolation out at sea specially those who work in cargo ships and tankers, in
contrast to those who work on cruise liners whose ships dock more often,
allowing them to interact with other people almost everyday.
Filipinas working as domestic helpers abroad are exposed to situations that
render them vulnerable to physical, sexual and psychological abuses.
Aside from these on-site problems besetting our OFWs, melancholy or
loneliness, the inability to adapt to other cultures and the unrealistic expectations
from their families at home may sometimes add to their grievances, which when
left unchecked, may further cause mental disorders that push them to commit
suicide.[[#_edn6|[vi]]]Reference:
Conde, B (2004) Philippine mental health country profile, International Review
of Psychiatry (February/May 2004)
16(12), 159166,
From
http://www.hawaii.edu/hivandaids/Philippines_Mental_Health_Country_Profile.
pdf
Quesada, A. T. (2005). Health at Stake: Access to Health of Overseas Filipino
Workers 2005 Report,
From http://www.achieve.org.ph/Philippine%20SoH%20Report.pdf
Tan, M. (2008, July 13). Homesick, Heartsick, , Inquirer.net,
From http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/sim/sim/view/20080713148154/Homesick-Heartsick
Liezl:
Around 32 percent of government employee-respondents had experienced
mental health problems at least once, 15 percent had specific phobias, 10 percent
were alcoholics, and 6 percent suffered from depression. These are findings of a
2006 pilot study done by the Department of Healths National Epidemiological
Center on several government agencies at the National Capital Region. The
study involved employees from the 20 national agencies in Metro Manila
(Salazar, 2008).
Reference:
Salazar, T. (2008, May 30). 32% of govt employees suffered mental health
problem--study. Inquirer.net. Accessed from
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view/20080530-139836/32of-govt-employees-suffered-mental-health-problem--study