Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-7qhmt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-29T02:38:01.057Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Koro and Psychosis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

P. C. Ang
Affiliation:
Friern Hospital, Friern Barnet Road, London N11 3BP
M. P. I. Weller
Affiliation:
Friern Hospital, Friern Barnet Road, London N11 3BP

Extract

‘Koro’ has been described as a culture-bound syndrome with localised depersonalisation confined to the penis, occurring in the context of a panic state with fear of impending disaster (Yap 1965,1969). Because ghosts are not thought to possess genitals, penile shrinkage is believed to be potentially fatal, with the risk that the victim will himself turn into a ghost. Until recently the syndrome was thought to be restricted to Southern Chinese emigres in Hong Kong and South East Asia. We wish to report two such cases, one in a West Indian and the other in a Greek Cypriot, admitted to Friern Hospital.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © 1984 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barnett, K. (1978) Koro in a Londoner. Lancet, 2: 1319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Constable, P. J. (1979) Koro in Hertfordshire. Lancet, i: 163.Google Scholar
Dow, T. W. & Silver, D. A. (1973) Drug induced Koro syndrome. Journal of the Florida Medical Association. 60, 32–3.Google ScholarPubMed
Gwee, A. L. (1963) Koro — a cultural disease. Singapore Medical Journal. 4, 119–22.Google Scholar
Marks, I. & Lader, M. (1973) Anxiety States (anxiety neurosis): A Review. Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases. 156, 318.Google Scholar
Yap, P. M. (1965) Koro — A culturebound depersonalisation syndrome. British Journal of Psychiatry. III, 4350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yap, P. M. (1969) The Culturebound Reactive Syndromes in Mental Health Research in Asia and the Pacific. (Eds Candill, W. & Lin, T. Y.). Honolulu: East-West Centre Press.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.