Prevalence and correlates of psychotic symptoms among Asian males.
OBJECTIVE
Psychotic symptoms have been reported at varying rates in the general population in the West. We studied the association of psychotic symptoms with educational attainment and other psychiatric disorders in 23,248 male pre-enlistees for National Service in Singapore.


METHODS
In a 2-stage assessment, these enlistees were first screened with the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-24) and the CRAFFT. Those screened positive were then assessed by the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) to establish the presence of psychiatric disorders based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV).


RESULTS
The rate of psychotic symptoms (after excluding those with psychotic disorders) was 8.2% (n = 1,909). A multinomial logistic regression using the controls as the reference group revealed that younger age, lower PSLE scores, and mood and anxiety disorder remained significantly associated with both the diagnoses of psychotic disorders and the presence of psychotic symptoms.


CONCLUSIONS
A combination of categorical and dimensional representation of psychopathology for the diagnosis of psychotic disorders would better inform treatment and prognosis as there is a considerable overlap in the presentation of psychotic symptoms and psychotic disorders.
Institute of Mental Health, Buangkok Green Medical Park, 10 Buangkok View, Singapore 539747, Republic of Singapore. mythily@imh.com.sg
Mythily
M
Subramaniam
Swapna
S
Verma
Christopher
C
Cheok
I-Min
IM
Lee
John
J
Wong
Siow Ann
SA
Chong
D000293:Adolescent; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D015897:Comorbidity; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D012846:Singapore / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult