Schizophrenia

Briana Mezuk & William W. Eaton

Schizophrenia is a disorder of psychotic intensity characterized by profound disruption of cognition and emotion, including hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech or behavior, and/or negative symptoms. This entry reviews the epidemiology of schizophrenia, along with its natural history and risk factors. It focuses on the period since the review by Yolles and Kramer in 1969, concentrating on results that are most credible methodologically and consistent across studies, and on the most recent developments. The most credible data on the epidemiology of schizophrenia come from registers, including inpatient and outpatient facilities for an entire nation, in which the diagnosis is typically made carefully according to the standards of the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases and in which treatment for schizophrenia in particular and health conditions in general is free (e.g., Denmark). The global point prevalence of schizophrenia is about 5 per 1,000 population. Prevalence ranges from 2.7 per 1,000 The ...

Users without subscription are not able to see the full content on this title. Please, subscribe or login to access all content on this website.