Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of minor physical anomalies in schizophrenic and physically ill patients.

Method:This was a case-control study.50 patients with the diagnosis of schizophrenia were com- pared with 50 physically ill patients on the basis of the prevalence of congenital anomalies.Selected in a three month period, the first group was comprised of patients in two psychiatric hospitals in Tehran. The physically ill patients were selected randomly from a general outpatient center during the same time in Tehran.Collection of data was completed by clinical examination,psychiatric interview, and a questionnaire.

Findings: The rate of minor congenital anomalies in schizophrenic patients was higher than the control group.Total scores were 258 and 143 respectively for the schizophrenic and the control groups the average number of anomalies was 5.5 for each schizophrenic patient and 2.6 for each partici-pant in the control group.The most anomaly sited was the mouth area (25%) in schizophrenic pa-tients and the feet (25%) in control group. The complete cohesion of auricle to the face was the most frequently identified anomaly in both groups.Except for lax and soft auricle,on the whole, anomalies were more prevalent in schizophrenic patients than non psychotic onesthe commonness of anomalies was more in males than females in both groups.

Results:The prevalence of minor physical anomalies in schizophrenic patients was more than phy-sically ill patients.