Potential for misdiagnosis among Turkish migrants with psychotic disorders: a clinical controlled study in Germany.
OBJECTIVE
The elevated rate of schizophrenia among migrants has been explained in part by possible misdiagnosis. In this study an attempt is made to quantify the extent of potential misdiagnosis among migrants in comparison to non-migrants.


METHODS
One hundred patients of Turkish origin (Tr-Pat) and a control group of 50 patients of German origin (G-Pat), all with a paranoid-hallucinatory syndrome upon admission, were examined by an interviewer of Turkish origin (Tr-Int), an interviewer of German origin (G-Int) and the clinician. The diagnostic evaluation was then compared.


RESULTS
Nineteen per cent of Tr-Pat and 4% of G-Pat showed diagnostic disagreement between the three raters, while in 8% of Tr-Pat and 0% of G-Pat the two research diagnoses disagreed. In Tr-Pat with 'bad' German knowledge showed tendentially more (29%) diagnostic disagreement than Tr-Pat with 'good' German knowledge (17%).


CONCLUSIONS
The rate of potential misdiagnosis is higher among migrants, yet not strongly correlated to poor second language proficiency.
Haasen
C
C
Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Yagdiran
O
O
Mass
R
R
Krausz
M
M
D000328:Adult; D003951:Diagnostic Errors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D015995:Prevalence; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014421:Turkey / Q000208:ethnology