Ethnicity and mental health: the example of schizophrenia and related psychoses in migrant populations in the Western world

Abstract

Multiple studies performed over the past few decades using various methodologies have reported 5–10-fold incidence rates for schizophrenia in African-Caribbean communities in Europe, findings that hold across generations. Increased incidences of lesser degree have also been reported in other ethnic minority migrant groups in Europe. Various explanations of this phenomenon have been proposed – such as misdiagnosis, differing nature and course of psychotic illness in different ethnic groups, genetics, predisposition to migration, early life influences and later childhood developmental risk factors, drug use, urbanicity, racism, as well as neurobiological factors. They are reviewed here. Relevant literature from North America is also discussed.