Ethnic origin and increased risk for schizophrenia in immigrants to countries of recent and longstanding immigration

• Published in: Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica Vol. 121; no. 5; pp. 325 - 339
• Main Author: Dealberto, M.-J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.05.2010; Blackwell
• Subjects: Adult and adolescent clinical studies; African Americans - psychology; African Americans - statistics & numerical data; African Continental Ancestry Group - psychology; African Continental Ancestry Group - statistics & numerical data; autism; Biological and medical sciences; Cross-Cultural Comparison; Cross-Sectional Studies; Emigrants and Immigrants - psychology; Emigrants and Immigrants - statistics & numerical data; Emigration and Immigration - statistics & numerical data; ethnicity; European Continental Ancestry Group - psychology; European Continental Ancestry Group - statistics & numerical data; Female; Humans; immigration; Immigration policy; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Noncitizens; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychoses; Risk Factors; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia - epidemiology; Schizophrenia - ethnology; Schizophrenia - etiology; vitamin D; Canada; North America; America; Social environment; Human; Immigrant; ethnicity; Mental health; Schizophrenia; Developmental disorder; Review; Epidemiology; Ethnic group; Micronutrient; Psychosis; Autism; Vitamin D; Sociodemographic factor; Risk factor; Immigration; Public health; International
• ISSN: 0001-690X; 1600-0447; 1600-0447
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2009.01535.x

Dealberto M‐J. Ethnic origin and increased risk for schizophrenia in immigrants to countries of recent and longstanding immigration. Objectives:  Compare the risk for schizophrenia in immigrants to countries of recent and longstanding immigration. Compare prevalence and incidence rates in black subjects under different conditions. Method:  An electronic literature search was complemented by review articles and cross‐references. Studies reporting standard diagnosis and incidence or prevalence rates were included. Results:  Immigrants had an increased risk for schizophrenia in countries of longstanding immigration, but with lower risk ratios than in those of recent immigration. The risk was higher in black immigrants and the black population living in the United States. But incidence and prevalence rates in Africa and the Caribbean were similar to those of international studies. Conclusion:  Comparing the most recent generation of immigrants with descendants of previous ones may account for the lower risk ratios observed in countries of longstanding vs. recent immigration. Two neurobiological hypotheses are proposed to explain the epidemiological findings in black populations and in immigrants.