Browsing by Author "Murtala, H.H., Garba, S.N., Amadu, L., Anyebe, E.E. and Olisah V.O."

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    Common Neuropsychiatric Disorders Among Children and Adolescents with Neuropsychiatric illnesses receiving Treatment in Hospitals in Kano State, Nigeria
    (Faculty of Biological Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria: Nigerian Journal of Scientific Research, 2018) Murtala, H.H., Garba, S.N., Amadu, L., Anyebe, E.E. and Olisah V.O.
    Neuropsychiatric disorders in children and adolescents represent an important area that needs attention. Children and adolescents are in critical developmental stages and they often have their own fair of health problems. The study set out to identify the frequently diagnosed types of neuropsychiatric illnesses and the age of onset of these disorders amongst children and adolescents in Kano, northwestern Nigeria. A cross-sectional descriptive research study which involved a random sample of 256 caregivers, recruited from two hospitals that provide mental health care services in Kano. Data were obtained from a set of questionnaires and Hospital records. These were organized and analyzed with SPSS version 23. The results indicated that the most common neuropsychiatric disorders of children and adolescents were epilepsy (41.1%), mental retardation (10.4%), substance-related disorders and developmental disorders (8.7%). The mean age of onset of childhood neuropsychiatric disorders was 6.40 years SDĀ±5.73. Compulsory mental health screening should be conducted during the post-natal period and in school health services for children in nursery and primary schools.