Demographic and clinical characteristics of diagnosed and non-diagnosed psychotic disorders in the community.

AIM: Retrospective studies of first-episode psychosis patients have reported that psychosis often remains untreated for some time. Yet, from clinical samples, the characteristics and number of non-diagnosed untreated psychosis patients in a community can only be estimated. Thus, this short report compares socio-demographic and clinical features of diagnosed and non-diagnosed psychotic individuals assessed in the community.

METHODS

Using telephone interviews, we clinically assessed 2682 community participants (aged 16-40 years) in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland, to examine the characteristics of non-diagnosed psychosis.

RESULTS

Of the 41 detected psychosis patients (1.5% of the sample), 21 (54%) had already been diagnosed and treated. Non-diagnosed individuals experienced a delusional disorder (DD) (n = 10) more frequently than diagnosed individuals (n = 1), but did not differ in other socio-demographic characteristics.

CONCLUSION

Further study of DD should be emphasized, along with increased awareness of the condition in primary healthcare services, as individuals with DD might present themselves for other complaints.