Schizophrenia in a Yemenite immigrant town in Israel

A high prevalence of schizophrenia was noted in an Israeli Yemenite immigrant town. In order to throw light on the aetiology all the schizophrenic patients in the care of one family doctor were investigated with respect to various social factors--age at diagnosis, interval since immigration, family status, geographic area of origin. In a practice population of 1185 adults, thirty schizophrenic patients were identified (2.5%). The patients fall into two groups--those diagnosed at a relatively advanced age, born in the Yemen, and parents to an adolescent child; and those Israeli-born diagnosed at the younger age more typical of the disease. The social history of this immigrant community is described and a correlation is suggested between their socio-cultural disintegration and schizophreniform breakdown in the parental generation.