The Influence of Metropolis Life in the Etiology and Symptoms of Conversion Disorder

Objective: The study examined the clinical symptoms and lifetime traumatic experience in female patients with conversion disorder (CD).Methods: The study sample consisted of patients from a metropolis (CD-metropolis group, n=60), patients from a non-metropolis city (CD-NMC group, n=60), and healthy controls (n=60). The study was completed with 180 women. The Dissociative Events scale (DES), Childhood Trauma questionnaire-28 (CTQ-28), Traumatic Experiences checklist (TEC), and a data form were used to evaluate the participants.Results: Some specific symptoms (inability to speak, numbness in hands and arms, pseudoseizures, paralysis in hands and arms, and fatigue) and coexisting suicide attempts and dissociation symptoms were more common, CTQ-28, DES, and TEC scores were higher, and TEC Family Support scores were lower in the CD-metropolis group than in the CD-NMC group (p<0.05 for all).Conclusion: Metropolitan life is associated with a different clinical symptomatology, more frequent coexisting problems of attempted suicide and/or dissociation symptoms, and more frequent lifetime trauma compared with NMC life in the context of CD.