Logo: to the web site of Uppsala University

This thesis is based on two independent studies, the first in Stockholm County (index year 1984; n=302), and the second, a replication and validation study, in Uppsala County (index year 1991; n=455).

The general aim was to study all individuals with Long-term Functional Psychosis (LFP) within the two counties of Sweden from an epidemiological perspective and to perform specific studies on a subgroup of individuals with schizophrenia. In the Stockholm study, the total one-year LFP prevalence was 5.3/1 000; in the the rural, suburban and urban areas it was 3.4, 5.6 and 6.6/1 000, respectively. The total one-year prevalence of LFP in Uppsala was 7.3/1 000; in the rural, peripheral city and central city areas it was 6.0, 7.0, and 8.7/1 000, respectively.

Within the non-schizophrenic subpopulation, a pronounced difference was demonstrated between the two studies with substantially higher prevalence rates in the Uppsala study. The schizophrenic subgroup in Uppsala was re-diagnosed using parallel diagnostic systems (DSM-III, DSM-III-R, DSM-IV and ICD-10), and reasonably comparable prevalence estimates were obtained.

In both studies antipsychotic drugs were most frequently prescribed for the patients with schizophrenia, and the doses were considered as low to moderate. In the Uppsala study the doses of antipsychotic drugs decreased with a longer duration of illness, while the opposite was found in the Stockholm study.

The increased mortality rate among patients with schizophrenia was mainly due to unnatural causes of death and cardiovascular diseases, particularly among males.

The main methodological differences between the two studies were in the sampling procedures. In the Uppsala study, a larger number of care facilities were screened, and a broader set of diagnostic criteria were used for identifying cases from different registers.