ONSET OF ACUTE PSYCHOTIC STATES IN INDIA - A STUDY OF SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC, SEASONAL AND BIOLOGICAL FACTORS

This is a comparative study of patients with acute-onset, non-affectiv e, non-organic, remitting psychoses and with non-remitting or schizoph renic psychoses in India. Two groups of patients with acute remitting and non-remitting or schizophrenic psychoses were compared with regard to the following variables: month of onset of psychosis; presence of stress, particularly fever, within 4 weeks preceding the onset of psyc hosis; childbirth within 12 weeks preceding the onset of psychosis; ge nder differences. It was found that the acute remitting psychoses show ed an overrepresentation of females, a higher frequency of associated stress preceding the onset of psychosis, more often had onset during t he summer months, i.e. between May and September, and had fever and ch ildbirth preceding the onset of psychosis in a significantly higher pr oportion of patients, compared to acute non-remitting psychoses or sch izophrenia. The implications of the findings which point towards biolo gical factors in the aetiology of acute remitting psychoses are discus sed.