A study in the United States shows that young patients with psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia, are often diagnosed long after receiving first aid in a psychiatric ward.
Hearing voices, feeling manipulated, having odor or taste disturbances. Several signs can alert the existence of a psychotic disorder in the individual, such as schizophrenia for example. In most cases, they are detected between the end of adolescence and the age of 30.
American researchers from the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, published research on the diagnosis of these disorders in The American Journal of Psychiatry. Patients would be diagnosed late, even though they were receiving or requesting treatment in the months preceding.
A study conducted on 624 patients
Scientists wanted to understand what the care path was for individuals, before they were diagnosed with psychotic disorders. Using health databases, they identified 624 patients, aged 15 to 29. All of them were diagnosed with psychotic disorders, but researchers looked at all of the care received the year before this diagnosis.
Hospitalization, a strong risk indicator
For example, 29% of patients were treated in an outpatient mental health service the year before diagnosis. 24% were treated in a psychiatric emergency department. 60% received a psychiatric diagnosis, such as addiction to psychotropic drugs.
Compared to people diagnosed with depression, those with psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia, were more likely to be hospitalized in psychiatric departments or even emergency psychiatric departments. All these elements show that the diagnosis can be made earlier. For researchers, hospitalization in psychiatry, or even in a psychiatric emergency department, is a major indicator of risk.
In France, around 600,000 people are thought to be suffering from schizophrenia. Half of the sick make at least one suicide attempt.
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