Koro – a Culture-Bound Phenomenon Intercultural Psychiatric Implications

Objective: Koro originally describes a Chinese endemic, culturally rooted phenomenon characterized by the imagination of genital shrinking/retraction combined with fear of death. Case reports of Koro and so-called Koro-like syndrome (KLS) have been found worldwide, mostly combined with different underlying mental disorders. The phenomenon is presented and discussed.Method: A literature review was performed as the basis for this discussion of a psychopathological phenomenon.Results: Koro, used synonymously for genital retraction syndromes and controversially discussed as a primarily culture-bound syndrome or universal symptom, can be observed worldwide. The two unifying features of the case reports cited are 1. their diversity in relation to the clinical picture, the underlying mental disorder, the treatment approach and their classification and nomenclature chosen and 2. the symptom of fear. In several cases, treatment with antidepressants and antipsychotics has been successful. Conclusion: Primarily, Koro is a culture-bound phenomenon and it has to be questioned whether it should be classified as a disease. Genital retraction syndromes are a psychopathological phenomenon that is globally found, accentuated by migration and mostly associated with an underlying mental disorder (German J Psychiatry 2008; 11: 21-28).