Psychiatric morbidity in adult Kashmiri migrants living in a migrant camp at Jammu

BACKGROUND: There are 14.9 million refugees and 22 million internally displaced persons in the world. The clinical and research literature shows a significant degree of psychological stress among refugees with relatively high levels of physical and psychological dysfunction in them. AIMS: To determine the prevalence of various psychiatric disorders among Kashmiri migrants settled in a migrant camp at Jammu MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was conducted on adults of Kashmiri migrant families residing in Muthi camp at Jammu. Three hundred families (150 each from two camps) were taken up for the study. Psychopathology was measured using Mini International Neuropsychiatry Interview Schedule (MINI). The data was categorized according to age, sex, education. The data was analyzed using Chi-square test with Yate’s correction wherever required. P-value less than 0.05 was taken as significant. RESULTS: Psychiatric morbidity was more in migrant population 33.66% (n=208) than in controls 26% (n=52) with major depressive episode being the most common diagnosis CONCLUSIONS: Depression, post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and generalized anxiety disorders (GAD) were statistically more prevalent among migrants than in controls.