Review of studies on committed patients: Methodologic problems when determining the diagnostic profile

Abstract

This paper reviews studies on the diagnostic profile of committed psychiatric patients. Most studies find that schizophrenia is the commonest diagnosis among these patients. The percentage of schizophrenics among committed patients varies, but many studies find figures between 30% and 50%. Comparison of commitments internationally is, however, problematic, and various sources of error and methodologic problems are discussed. These include limited representativity in the individual study, the risk of selection bias due to lack of drop-out analyses, and poor external validity. Attempts to reduce the number of commitments must be based on knowledge of the main target group among committed patients. This seems to be patients with schizophrenia and, therefore, ensuring optimal treatment of these patients in both an inpatient and an outpatient setting is essential.