The Population-Based Incidence and Prevalence of Catatonia.

Objective: Catatonia is a neuropsychiatric disorder that is associated with a range of medical and psychiatric illnesses. Although many single-center studies have been conducted, uncertainty over the population-based incidence and prevalence of the disorder remains. This study reports on the incidence and prevalence rates of catatonia extrapolated from two large epidemiologic studies in the United Kingdom and United States.

Methods: Incidence rates (defined as the number of catatonic episodes per 100,000 person-years) and prevalence rates (defined as the proportion of individuals with catatonia in a given year) were calculated from the two studies.

Results: U.K. data showed an incidence of 4.34 (95% CI=3.98-4.72) catatonic episodes per 100,000 person-years with an average 1-year prevalence of 4.39 (95% CI=4.03-4.77) catatonic episodes per 100,000 persons. U.S. data revealed a 1-year prevalence of 5.15 (95% CI=5.08-5.23) catatonia-related hospitalizations per 100,000 persons.

Conclusions: Catatonia is a rare disorder, qualifying as an orphan disease under both European Medicines Agency and U.S. Food and Drug Administration criteria. Further research is needed to rigorously define the epidemiology of catatonia in other populations.