Admissions in Dromokaition Psychiatric Hospital of Athens: 1901-1985

Abstract

Established in 1887, Dromokaition is the first psychiatric hospital in Athens. Information available for the profile of patients admitted to psychiatric hospitals in Greece, especially for the first half of the 20th century, is very scarce. The aim of the study is to point out the characteristics of patients admitted and the influence of European dominant views on mental diseases in Greek psychiatry. Data for 3014 patients (20% of total number) for the period 1901-1985 were obtained via systematic sampling. The data available were: entry date, gender, age, occupation, brief medical history. The 56 diagnoses have been classified into 9 groups. We have used descriptive statistical methods, two-way associations, odds ratios and cluster analysis, permitting to point out the main characteristics of admitted patients. The preponderance of male admissions in the first decades of the 20th century has been progressively balanced out. About a half of total admissions were schizophrenia-related. The percentage of male patients was significantly higher in personality disorders; for major affective disorders and neuroses the opposite occurs. Progressive paralysis of the insane, a frequent diagnosis in the first decades of the 20th century becomes rare thereafter. In conclusion social changes, major historical events and the evolution of views on psychiatric care have left their traces in the profile of patients admitted.