Koro (medicine)

Koro
Classification and external resources
MeSH	D016911
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Koro is a culture-specific syndrome delusional disorder in which an individual has an overpowering belief that one's genitalia are retracting and will disappear, despite the lack of any true longstanding changes to the genitals. Koro is also known as shrinking penis, and it is listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The syndrome occurs worldwide, and mass hysteria of genital-shrinkage anxiety has a history in Africa, Asia, and Europe. In the United States and Europe, the syndrome is commonly known as genital retraction syndrome. The condition can be diagnosed through psychological assessment along with physical examination to rule out genuine disorders of the genitalia that could be causing true retraction.

In DSM-IV-TR, koro is listed as one of the entries in the Glossary of Culture-Bound Syndromes of Appendix I. The manual gives koro's definition as "a term, probably of Malaysian origin, that refers to an episode of sudden and intense anxiety that the penis (or, in females, the vulva and nipples) will recede into the body and possibly cause death." Attempts have been made by numerous authors to place koro into different classes. For example, koro may fit into the group of "specific culture-imposed nosophobia" (classification with cardinal sign), "the genital retraction taxon" (classification with common factors between syndromes), and the group with "culture-related beliefs as causes for the occurrence" (classification according to how the syndromes might be affected by cultural factors).

Various authors have attempted to distinguish between complete and incomplete forms of koro, along with cultural and non-cultural forms. Cultural forms are said to involve a cultural belief or myth which plays a role in the genesis and spread of the disease in the community. These are regarded as complete forms of koro, matching all the symptoms required for diagnosis without significant co-morbidity. Differentiation into primary koro, a culture-bound expression, and secondary koro. Secondary koro is proposed to have co-morbidity with a CNS disorder, another psychiatric disorder, or possible drug use.

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