Prevalence of dissociative identity disorder among psychiatric outpatients in different cultural groups
M. M. Abdellah, Khadiga Mohamed Ragheb, T. Elshafie, R. Hamed
Middle East Current Psychiatry July 7, 2025 DOI: 10.1186/s43045-025-00546-6 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional prevalence study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Psychiatric outpatients at two hospitals in Sohag and Cairo, Egypt |
| Measures | Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Dissociative Disorders (SCID-D), Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule (DDIS) |
| Key findings | DID prevalence among psychiatric outpatients was 4.8% by SCID-D and 6.8% by DDIS, with 5.3% in Sohag versus 3.0% in Cairo and no statistically significant difference between sites. The authors argue that DID is more common in this population than usually reported and that specific diagnostic tools would improve management. |
Abstract
Dissociative disorders (DDs) are characterized by a disturbance in the organization of identity, consciousness, perception, or memory. This disturbance involves disruptions of consciousness and limited access to information. One of the valuable updates in the recent study of DDs is the well-established link between dissociation and trauma. Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is the most widely discussed and recognized of the DDs. This work aimed to determine the prevalence and contributing factors of DID among psychiatric outpatients in two hospitals representing two different cultural groups located in Sohag and Cairo. According to the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Dissociative Disorders (SCID-D), the prevalence of DID patients is 4.8% and 6.8% according to DDIS, and the prevalence in Sohag versus Cairo is 5.3% versus 3.0% with no significant statistical difference. The prevalence of other dissociative disorders according to SCID-D in Sohag versus in Cairo is as follows: DDNOS 24 (8%) vs. 5 (5%), dissociative fugue 1 (0.3%) vs. 0 (0%), and depersonalization/derealization 6 (2%) vs. 1 (1%) with no significant statistical difference between the two studied groups. The total prevalence of DID patients is 4.8 according to SCID-D and 6.8% according to DDIS, and the prevalence in Sohag versus Cairo is 5.3% versus 3.0% with no significant statistical difference, which means that DID is more prevalent in our psychiatric patients than usually mentioned and the use of specific diagnostic tools will benefit our management plans. These findings highlight the need for greater clinical awareness of dissociative disorders and DID among different psychiatric disorders.