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The Incidence of Operationally Defined Schizophrenia in Camberwell, 1965–84

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

David Castle*
Affiliation:
Genetics Section, Institute of Psychiatry
Simon Wessely
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry
Geoffrey Der
Affiliation:
MRC Social Psychiatry Unit, Institute of Psychiatry
Robin M. Murray
Affiliation:
King's College Hospital and Institute of Psychiatry
*
Genetics Section, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF

Abstract

We established first-contact rates of schizophrenia in the defined area of Camberwell between 1965 and 1984. The rate of schizophrenia, whether defined by ICD, RDC, or DSM–III criteria, rose over the period under study. This finding is at odds with reports of an overall decline in first-admission rates for schizophrenia in England, over the same period. The discrepancy was largely accounted for by the influx into Camberwell of individuals of Afro-Caribbean origin, who showed rates of schizophrenia between four and eight times that of their Caucasian counterparts.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © 1991 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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