The British Journal of Psychiatry 148: 247-256 (1986)
© 1986 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
Political hazards in the diagnosis of 'sluggish schizophrenia'
H Merskey and B Shafran
The concept of 'sluggish schizophrenia' is virtually limited to the USSR
and some other East European countries, and may contribute to the
mis-diagnosis of democrats as psychiatric patients. Recently, a number of
articles have appeared in the Soviet literature relating the diagnosis of
'sluggish schizophrenia' or 'slowly progressive schizophrenia' to affective
disorders, especially hypomania. Soviet publications on this theme from
1980 to 1984 are discussed, together with their relationship to questions
on the abuse of psychiatry.