Admission rates for schizophrenia in The Netherlands: an urban/rural comparison

This article examines admission rates for schizophrenia in terms of degree of urbanization. Patient data was obtained from the Dutch psychiatric register. The scale of urbanization used had five categories and was utilized to establish the degree of urbanization in each municipality (n=647). Admission rates showed a significant positive correlation with the degree of urbanization in the 15-34 years and 35-54 years age groups for both sexes. The average duration of hospitalization and the average number of readmissions showed no association with the degree of urbanization. Taken as a whole, these utilization rates provide evidence of a much higher incidence of schizophrenia in the most urbanized municipalities of The Netherlands.