‘Higher risk of psychosis’ among minority groups

First and second-generation immigrants appear to have a higher risk of psychoses than white British individuals, new research claims.

A report published in the Archives of General Psychiatry today claims that an elevated risk of psychoses ? psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia ? has been observed among migrants groups since 1932 when Norwegians moving to the US displayed higher rates.

“Immigration is an important life event and difficulties in assimilation may remain chronic ? although individual risk is still considered to be mediated through genetic susceptibility,” the authors claim.

As part of the report researchers investigated 484 patients from three inner-city boroughs of east London who first developed psychoses between 1996 and 2000.

Aged between 18 and 64, the group provided information about their self-described ethnicity, place of birth, and the place where their parents were born.

“Raised incidence of both non-affective [not related to emotion or mood] and affective psychoses were found for all of the black and minority ethnic subgroups compared with white British individuals,” the authors declared.

“The risk of non-affective psychoses for first and second generations varied by ethnicity.”

The study found that black Caribbean second-generation immigrants were at higher risk of psychoses than their first-generation counterparts, while Asian women of both generations, but not men, also had an increased risk compared with white British individuals.

The authors claim that the difference in psychosis rates between the two generations was likely due to age.

Additionally the authors claim that several main factors associated with immigration may also be associated with psychoses, including discrimination, isolation and alienation.