OUTCOME OF SCHIZOPHRENIA - SOME TRANSCULTURAL OBSERVATIONS WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO DEVELOPING-COUNTRIES

The present paper provides a description of data based and methodologi cally sound studies of outcome of schizophrenia from developing and no n-Western countries and compares the results. Major studies reviewed i nclude the 2- and 5-year follow-up of the cohort of the International Pilot Study of Schizophrenia, the patients of the World Health Organiz ation Collaborative Study on the Determinants of Outcome of Severe Men tal Disorders, a few Indian studies including the study sponsored by t he Indian Council of Medical Research and some studies from Colombia a nd South-East Asia. The studies are compared in terms of the quality o f methodology and the rate of attrition. Although the outcome criteria of these studies are not similar, it is obvious that the outcome of s chizophrenia in developing countries is generally more favourable. The reasons for this are far from clear. Research concerning the issues p ertaining to better outcome of schizophrenia in developing countries i n the context of socio-cultural differences is woefully lacking. This is an area that deserves research attention.