AFFECTIVE-DISORDERS, HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS, AND SEASONAL-VARIATION OF MANIA IN A SUBTROPICAL AREA, SOUTHERN-HEMISPHERE

Hospital admissions (n = 15,450) to a state psychiatric hospital in Bo tucatu, Sao Paulo State, Brazil, over a 10-year period (1982-1991) wer e reviewed. 157 (1%) patients received a probable diagnosis of affecti ve disorder according to DSM-III-R criteria. Among them, 46% had been diagnosed by the staff psychiatrists, and their diagnoses were sustain ed by the researchers, whereas 54% were diagnosed only by one of the r esearchers (F.K.C.). These last patients had previously received a dia gnosis of paranoid schizophrenia or unspecified psychosis (ICD-9). Mos t of the patients with affective disorders were bipolar: 72 and 8%, re spectively, presented manic and depressive episodes. Thus, only 20% re ceived a diagnosis of major depression. A seasonal pattern in hospital admission was observed only for mania in women, their episodes occurr ing more often (p < 0.02) in spring and summer. No significant seasona l pattern in hospital admission for depression was found.