Manic-depressive illness among poor urban blacks.
In psychiatric epidemiology it has generally been accepted that manic-depressive illness rarely occurs among blacks and lower socioeconomic groups. The authors conducted a retrospective study to examine the frequency of manic-depressive illness among lower income urban blacks admitted to an acute psychiatric inpatient unit of an urban hospital. The medical records of a random sample of 117 black psychiatric patients were reviewed for determination of manic-depressive illness as well as socioeconomic characteristics. Eighteen subjects (15%) were diagnosed as manic-depressive. The authors present possible explanations for this finding and the ramifications for future investigations.
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019965:Neurocognitive Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D009519:New York City; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014504:Urban Health