Prevalence of treated and untreated DSM-III schizophrenia. Results of a two-stage community survey

Abstract

Psychiatrists, using a standardized clinical method, examined a probability sample of 810 subjects in eastern Baltimore and made diagnoses of mental disorders among those subjects according to DSM-III criteria. The authors estimated that there were 4.6 active cases of schizophrenia per 1000 adult noninstitutionalized population, and 6.4 cases per 1000 population, including both active and remitted cases. Among the 17 active and remitted schizophrenics identified in the survey, one half were not receiving any form of mental health services at the time of the survey; these data yield a prevalence rate of untreated cases of 3.1 per 1000 population. All of the untreated schizophrenics were deemed by the examining psychiatrist to be in need of services.