Many cases can be lessened or resolved by correcting these deficiencies if they're present.

The first line of treatment, says Yeager, is to test for mineral or nutrient deficiencies like iron or zinc. 'There is a connection with anxiety, and many who have anxiety also suffer from depression at times.' 'Frequently, these actions help to calm the individual,' Yeager says. There is no single identified cause of Pica, but Yeager says that according to The Handbook of Clinical Child Psychology, it frequently begins in childhood and affects between 4 and 26 percent of the population. 'It frequently occurs with other mental health disorders like intellectual disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder, or Schizophrenia.' 'Pica involves eating items that are not typically thought of as food,' Yeager says.

While we don't know precisely what caused Khan's and the others' behavior, there's an explanation for why some people are compelled to do this.Īccording to psychiatrist Ken Yeager, Ph.D., director of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center's Stress Trauma and Resilience (STAR) Program, an eating disorder called Pica may be the cause. In fact, a 2012 study published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology looked at 33 patients at the Rhode Island Hospital who swallowed things like pens, batteries, knives, and razor blades. This isn't the first time someone has ingested foreign objects like Khan did. Maksud Khan, 35, had been complaining of stomach pain for three months, according to The Independent, and when doctors did an endoscopy, they found hundreds of coins, 3 pounds of nails, dozens of shaving blades, shards of glass, stones, and a 6-inch piece of rusted iron shackle. On November 27, surgeons in India operated on a man admitted for abdominal pain to find and remove 15 pounds of metal foreign objects from his stomach.

Pica syndrome list