The prevalence of schizophrenia in a remote area of Botswana

We ascertained the one-year prevalence of schizophrenia amongst individuals aged 15 years or older living in six villages in a remote area of Botswana. All cases were diagnosed independently by two experienced psychiatrists, following ICD9 rubrics. DSM-III criteria were also applied, separately. Accurate contemporary population estimates of the villages were available. The age-adjusted prevalence of schizophrenia was 5.3 per 1000 in terms of ICD9, or 4.3 per 1000 by DSM-III, which has an upper age limit for onset of 45 years. These figures are well within the range generally reported for industrial communities. Remote village life in Botswana appears to offer no protection against the development of schizophrenia.