Epidemiology of psychiatric disorders in Edmonton. Antisocial personality disorders.

Abstract

3258 randomly selected adult household residents of Edmonton, Canada, were interviewed by trained lay interviewers using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS). 104 subjects fulfilled DSM-III antisocial personality disorder (ASP) criteria. Lifetime prevalence rates were found to be significantly higher in males and in the younger adult age groups. The age of onset (i.e. age at which conduct disorder symptoms first appeared) was found to be under 10 years in the majority of cases, with females lagging just slightly behind males. Symptom patterns and frequencies were examined and the relative risks for these symptoms were calculated. Comorbidity, calculated using full DSM-III severity criteria, but without exclusion criteria, revealed an increased prevalence of nearly every other psychiatric disorder in those with antisocial personality disorder, with 90.4% having at least one other lifetime psychiatric diagnosis.