Characteristics of hospital-treated schizophrenia in São Paulo, Brazil

This paper reports a study on the prevalence of hospital-treated schizophrenia in a large urban centre in Brazil. A sample of 124 individuals from a defined catchment area of São Paulo consecutively admitted to psychiatric hospitals due to acute episodes of non-affective psychoses were assessed by standardized instruments for mental state and social adjustment. The sample was predominantly white (72.6%), single (65.2%), Catholic (61.3%) and not born in that city (58.9%). Eighty-six subjects fulfilled DSM-III-R criteria for schizophrenia (69.3%), 15 were classified as schizophreniform psychosis (12.1%), and 7 as schizoaffective (5.6%). Almost two-thirds showed Schneider's 'first rank' symptoms. Social adjustment before admission was poor or very poor in nearly half the sample. Mean age at onset was 3.2 years earlier in men than in women (P = 0.007). No gender differences in mental state or social adjustment were observed. Individuals born outside São Paulo State had significantly more florid symptoms than those born in that state. These findings suggest that the features of schizophrenia in a large urban centre of Brazil are consistent with the patterns of schizophrenia described in Western developed countries.