Heterogeneity in Incidence Rates of Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Syndromes

Abstract

Context: Convention suggests uniformity of incidence of schizophrenia and other psychoses; variation would have implications for their causes and biological characteristics.Objective: To investigate variability in the incidence of psychotic syndromes in terms of place, ethnicity, age, and sex.Design: Three-center, prospective, comprehensive survey of clinically relevant first-onset psychotic syndromes over a 2-year period (1997-1999).Census data provided the denominator.