Primary polydipsia rare non-psychogenic causes. An example is polydipsia found in patients with autoimmune chronic hepatitis with severely elevated globulin levels. Evidence for the thirst being non-psychogenic is gained from the fact that it disappears after treatment of the underlying disease. Psychogenic polydipsia is also observed in some non-human patients, such as in rats. Primary polydipsia Primary polydipsia is a form of polydipsia characterised by excessive fluid intake in the absence of physiological stimuli to drink. This includes psychogenic polydipsia (PPD – not to be confused with postpartum depression), which is caused by psychiatric disorders, often schizophrenia, and often accompanied by the
Primary polydipsia problems. The desmopressin test is also used, in which the synthetic hormone is used as a diagnostic workup to test for inappropriate secretion of vasopressin, as seen in DI and SIADH. Psychogenic polydipsia is found in patients with mental illnesses, most commonly schizophrenia, but also anxiety disorders and rarely affective disorders, anorexia nervosa and personality disorders. PPD occurs in between 6% and 20% of psychiatric inpatients. It may also be found in people with developmental disorders, such as those with autism. While psychogenic polydipsia is usually not seen outside the population of those with serious mental disorders, it may occasionally