Comorbidity in Children with Mental Retardation

This study was conducted in the child psychiatry unit of a tertiary psychiatric hospital. 60 patients diagnosed to have mental retardation according to ICD-10 (WHO, 1992) criteria constituted the study sample. A psychiatric disorder was present in 56.17% of the cases, and a medical disease was present in 35.0%. Only 13.3% cases had both a psychiatric as well as medical illness. Patients with a psychiatric illness were found to have a lesser degree of retardation. The commonest psychiatric disorder observed was behavioural and emotional disorders, while the commonest medical illness found was epilepsy. Patients with a medical illness were found to have a negative family history for a mental illness, and were much younger at the first consultation compared to the patients with a psychiatric illness. The above findings have been discussed, with emphasis on issues like dual diagnosis and diagnostic overshadowing.