![]() ![]() It is not unusual to notice that younger children are frequently eating nonnutritive substances.Ĭopyright © 2023, StatPearls Publishing LLC. Pregnant women can be especially prone to the disorder, which also affects people with. It is important to understand that in order to diagnose pica, the individual must be at least 2 years of age. The disorder is most commonly exhibited by women and young children. Pica usually occurs as an isolated disorder but there are instances when it may co-exist with schizophrenia, OCD, and trichotillomania. Stressors such as emotional trauma, maternal deprivation, family issues, parental neglect, pregnancy, and a disorganized family structurefailed verification. Groups with a higher prevalence of pica (up to 20) include those living in rural areas. In some parts of the world, the consumption of non-nutritive substances is culturally accepted. What is pica Pregnancy Iron deficiency anaemia Autism Intellectual developmental disorders Depression Obsessive-compulsive disorder and related disorders. Pica is characterized by the ingestion of non-nutritive materials such as dirt, clay, laundry starch, cornstarch, ice, chalk, burnt matches, baking soda, hair, stone, gravel, charcoal, cigarette ashes, mothballs, coffee grounds, and even tire inner tubes. In women, it is most often seen during pregnancy. It is unclear how many children with pica intentionally consume dirt (geophagy). The nature of ingested items is variable, including but not limited to earth (geophagy), raw starches (amylophagy), ice (pagophagia), charcoal, ash, paper, chalk, cloth, baby powder, coffee grounds, and eggshells.Īlthough pica is seen in children, it is also a common eating disorder in patients who are intellectually impaired. ![]() For diagnosis, the behavior must persist for at least one month, not be in keeping with the child's developmental stage (and age cut off of 24 months or more is suggested by DSM V), and not be socially normative or culturally acceptable behavior. A four-fold increase in pica prevalence was recorded in individuals who were African American and pregnant, making ethnicity the most significant predictor of pica during pregnancy in this study. The term is derived from "pica-pica," the Latin word for the magpie bird, because of the bird's indiscriminate gathering and eating a variety of objects for the sake of curiosity. The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) defines pica as eating nonnutritive, nonfood substances over a period of at least one month. ![]()
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