QUERULOUS PARANOIA IN CHINESE PATIENTS - A CULTURAL PARADOX

Objective: There has been no reported case of querulous paranoia from the Asian population, A prospective study was undertaken to identify p atients with querulous paranoia in an outpatient clinic. Method: One t housand, five hundred and fifty-one new referrals to a university-affi liated psychiatric outpatient clinic in Hong Kong were screened for qu erulous paranoia during routine clinical work. Results: Three patients with querulous paranoia (0.19%) were identified during 1 year, The ca se histories of these three patients are reported. Conclusion: Possibl e reasons for the low reporting rate are discussed and the importance of sociocultural traditions in the development and recognition of quer ulous paranoia is emphasised.