Schizophrenia in Kosrae, Micronesia: prevalence, gender ratios, and clinical symptomatology

The utility of genetic isolates for research is in part based on the assump tion that the illness of interest is similar across cultures. In this repor t, we review the data on schizophrenia in Micronesia, a collection of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. Significant variations in prevalence between the islands have been reported, as have male to female ratios whic h are strikingly high. We focus on the patients in Kosrae, one of the islan ds in the Federated States of Micronesia. Twenty-two schizophrenics are ide ntified. We found a prevalence rate of 6.8 per 1000 and a male to female ra tio of 6.3:1. Although, in many ways, the patients resemble their Western c ounterparts, 19 of the patients were episodically mute, especially when unt reated or undermedicated. Possible explanations for this unusual symptom ar e discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.