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This page is an AI-assisted Turkish summary of the study presented at the 26th World Congress of Psychiatry. The study belongs to the presenting authors; please refer to the original source when citing it.

EV0253

Psychosocial factors in children and adolescents with functional neurological disorder in North India

PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH FUNCTIONAL NEUROLOGICAL DISORDER IN NORTH INDIA

At least one psychosocial stressor was identified in all children and adolescents with functional neurological disorder, with academic difficulties being the most common (64.7%); 73% of cases achieved remission within nine months.

The aim was to examine psychosocial factors associated with functional neurological disorder (FND) in children and adolescents and to assess their impact on clinical outcomes over time; the poster reports a prevalence of 12.5% among outpatient presentations in India and 1% to 3% worldwide. A prospective longitudinal study was conducted involving 68 cases aged 6–16 years, who were recruited during the first 3 months and followed for 9 months; assessments were conducted monthly for the first 3 months and every three months for the subsequent 6 months. Psychosocial stressors were assessed using DSM-5 criteria, comorbid diagnoses using the K-SADS-PL, and illness severity using the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scale; at the end of month 9, participants were divided into symptomatic and asymptomatic groups, which were compared using the Mann–Whitney U and chi-square tests. The mean age of participants was 12.9±2.51 years, and 82.4% had presented within six months of symptom onset. All cases reported at least one psychosocial stressor, most commonly academic difficulties (64.7%), followed by family-related problems (23.5%) and other factors (10%); most had a single identifiable stressor. By the end of nine months, 73% of cases had achieved remission, while symptoms persisted in 27%; the mean time to remission was 3.0±3.11 months. Persistent psychosocial factors, comorbid psychiatric illness, and greater illness severity were reported as predictors of persistent symptoms. In conclusion, functional impairment was greatest in the academic domain; early identification of academic and family stressors, screening for psychiatric comorbidity, and monitoring of illness severity and functioning are recommended.

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