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Risk factors and the prevalence of neurosis and psychosis in ethnic groups in Great Britain

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Abstract

Background

Our aim was to examine whether variations in the prevalence of neurosis and psychosis between ethnic minorities throughout Great Britain are explained by social disadvantage.

Method

A total of 10,108 adult householders throughout Great Britain were assessed in a two-stage survey with the Revised Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS-R) and Psychosis Screening Questionnaire (PSQ). Respondents with a positive PSQ or who received a diagnosis of, or treatment for, psychosis were examined by a psychiatrist using the Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN). Data on respondents’ preferred ethnic group were collapsed into four groups: Whites, African-Caribbean or Africans, south Asians and other.

Results

Ethnic grouping was strongly associated with: unemployment; lone parent status; lower social class; low perceived social support; poverty (indicated by lack of car ownership) and having a primary social support group of less than three close others. All these associations applied to the group Africans and Afro-Caribbeans, but only some applied to the other groups. No ethnic group had significantly increased rates of neurosis. Only the African-Caribbean group were at significantly increased risk of a psychotic disorder (odds ratio 4.55; 95% CI: 1.13, 18.30). After adjustment for risk factors, the odds of psychosis were lower (odds ratio 2.97; 95% CI: 0.66, 13.36).

Conclusions

The excess of psychosis in Africans and Afro-Caribbeans in Great Britain appears to be partly explained by socio-economic disadvantage, but larger studies are needed to confirm this.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Leicester, Section of Social and Epidemiological Psychiatry, Department of Health Sciences, Brandon Mental Health Unit, Leicester General Hospital, Gwendolen Road, Leicester LE5 4PW, UK

    Traolach Brugha M.D., FRCPsych

  2. WHO Collaborating Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK

    Rachel Jenkins M.D., FRCPsych

  3. Royal Free and University College London Medical School, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Archway Campus Whittington Hospital, Highgate Hill, London N19 5NF, UK

    Paul Bebbington M.D., PhD, FRCP, FRCPsych

  4. Office for National Statistics, 1 Drummond Gate, London SW1V 2QQ, UK

    Howard Meltzer PhD

  5. University of Wales, College of Medicine, Department of Psychological Medicine, Heath Park, Cardiff CF4 4XN, UK

    Glyn Lewis PhD, FRCPsych

  6. Institute of Psychiatry, De’Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK

    Michael Farrell MRPsych

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  1. Traolach Brugha M.D., FRCPsych
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  2. Rachel Jenkins M.D., FRCPsych
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  5. Glyn Lewis PhD, FRCPsych
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  6. Michael Farrell MRPsych
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Brugha, T., Jenkins, R., Bebbington, P. et al. Risk factors and the prevalence of neurosis and psychosis in ethnic groups in Great Britain. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 39, 939–946 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-004-0830-9

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