Fever and acute brief psychosis in urban and rural settings in north India

Background This case-control study used data from Chandigarh, North India t o investigate the association between antecedent fever and acute brief psyc hosis. Aims To assess whether antecedent fever may be a biological correlate of ac ute brief psychosis, and contribute to the nosology of acute brief psychosi s. Method The study was based in an incidence cohort from two catchment areas, an urban and a rural site, that were part of the World Health Organization Determinants of Outcome study. The cases (n = 17) met criteria for acute b rief psychosis; controls (n = 40) were patients with other acute and subacu te psychoses. The Lire Events Schedule was used to determine the presence o f antecedent fever. Results The crude odds ratio for fever as a risk factor for acute brief psy chosis was 6.2 (P = 0.004). The odds ratio in a logistic regression analysi s - adjusted for site, gender and CATEGO classification - was 11.2 (P = 0.0 03). Conclusions Antecedent fever may be a biological correlate of acute brief p sychosis. This finding supports the validity or this entity, and has implic ations for its aetiology and diagnosis. Declaration of interest Supported by the National institute of Mental Healt h, USA.