Conversion symptoms in a general hospital

Abstract

Analysis of 1,000 consecutive psychiatric consultations shows that the prevalence of conversion disorder (5%) in a general hospital remains significant. Conversion patients referred for psychiatric consultation were predominantly married young women of lower socioeconomic class and rural background. We observed rapid remissions of presenting symptoms in most cases upon treatment and found a significant proportion of somatization disorder (34%) or history of conversion disorder (38%). Other phenomenologic findings are discussed in regard to previous reports or hypotheses about conversion symptoms. © 2011, The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. All rights reserved.