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First-episode schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other psychoses in a rural Irish catchment area: incidence and gender in the Cavan—Monaghan study at 5 years^*

Stanley Research Unit, St Davnet's Hospital, Monaghan, Ireland

ANTHONY KINSELLA, MSc

School of Mathematics, Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin, Ireland

EADBHARD O'CALLAGHAN, MD, FRCPsych

Stanley Research Unit, Cluain Mhuire Family Centre, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland

JOHN M. OWENS, FRCPsych

Stanley Research Unit, St Davnet's Hospital, Monaghan, Ireland

JOHN L. WADDINGTON, PhD, DSc

Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland

Correspondence: Professor John L. Waddington, Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Ireland. Tel. +353 1 402 2245; fax: +353 1 402 2453; e-mail: jwadding{at}rcsi.ie

Declaration of interest Supported by the Stanley Medical Research Institute.

^* Presented in part at the European First Episode Schizophrenia Network Meeting, Whistler BC, Canada, 27 April 2001.

Background The potential of first-episode studies in schizophrenia is maximised through systematic epidemiological, clinical and biological comparisons between homogeneous populations of the psychoses.

Aims To conduct prolonged accrual of ‘all’ cases of non-affective and affective psychotic illness on an epidemiologically complete basis.

Method Within the region covered by Cavan—Monaghan psychiatric service (population 102 810), all putative cases of first-episode psychosis were diagnosed using DSM—IV.

Results From 1995 to 2000, 69 cases of psychosis were ascertained, the incidence being 2.3-fold lower in females than in males. On resolving the ‘core’ diagnoses of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, incidence of schizophrenia among women was 7.5-fold lower than among men whereas incidence of bipolar disorder among women was 6.6-fold lower than among men.

Conclusions This homogeneous population, which eliminates factors associated with urbanicity and minimises confounding factors such as socio-economic, ethnic and geographical diversity, shows a markedly reduced incidence among females both of schizophrenia and of bipolar disorder.

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				S. LEWIS The European First-Episode Schizophrenia Network The British Journal of Psychiatry, September 1, 2002; 181 (43): s1 - s2. [Full Text] [PDF]