THE PICA

The Pica is a mental disorder which induce a urge willing to eat things that wouldn't be eaten.

The term pica originates from the Latin word for magpie, a bird that is reputed because of their unusual eating behaviors where they are known to eat almost anything.

It's classified in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) with four criteria: 

1) Persistent eating of nonnutritive substances for a period of at least 1 month

2) Does not meet the criteria for either having autism, schizophrenia, or Kleine-Levin syndrome.

3) The eating behavior is not part of a culturally sanctioned practice

4) If the eating behavior occurs exclusively during the course of another mental disorder

Types of Pica

We can find different types of Pica according to the thing which is eaten: 

• Hyalophagia: people who consume glass 
• Geomelophagia: people who consume raw potatoes
• Urophagia: people who consume urine 
• Trichophagia: people who consume hair or wool 
• Pagophagia: people who pathologicaly consume ice

There are as many types of Pica as there are things to eat.

It can lead to very severe complications according to the substance which is consumed.

For example, the comsumption of glass can trigger a gastric hemorragy.

Things which have been discovered in a human stomach...

Causes and treatement

Cause of Pica is not really known. Some scientists think that it could be due to a mineral deficiency for several types of Pica. For example, people who suffer from iron defiency eat substance which contain iron to make up of this deficiency.
There is no specific treatment for Pica. It depends on the patient and on the type of his or her disease. This disease can disapear without medical intervention.
A psychological therapy and a modification of the environment could be sufficient to cure.

Epidemiology

• The prevalence of pica is difficult to establish because of differences in definition and the reluctance of patients to admit to abnormal cravings and ingestion. Thusly leading to the prevalence recordings of pica being in the range of 8% to 65% depending on the study. 
• A study published in 1994 found that 8.1% of pregnant African-American women in the United States self-reported pagophagia, the ingestion of large quantities of ice and freezer frost.  
• A study conducted in 1991 found a prevalence of pica in 8.8% of pregnant women in Saudi Arabia. Rates of pica among pregnant women in developing countries, however, can be much higher, with estimates of 63.7% and 74.0% reported for two different African populations. This is due to different cultural norms as well as greater levels of malnutrition.  
• Two studies of mentally retarded adults living in institutions found that 21.8% and 25.8% of these groups suffered from pica.  
• Prevalence rates for children with and without developmental disabilities are unknown.