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Original

Age-at-first-registration and heterogeneity in affective psychoses

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Pages 66-69 | Received 31 Jan 2002, Accepted 10 Sep 2002, Published online: 07 Aug 2009
 

Abstract

Background: Previous research into age of onset in affective disorders has produced conflicting results. This paper examines the influence of heterogeneity on the age-at-firstregistration distribution for the ICD-9 diagnostic group ‘affective psychosis’.

Method: For 1979–1991, data for age-at-first-registration for 4985 individuals diagnosed with affective psychosis (ICD-9 296.x) were extracted from a name-linked mental health register. These data were divided into (i) ‘296.1 only’, a category used to code unipolar depression (males = 700; females = 1321); and (ii) ‘296 other’, all 296 cases other than 296.1 (males = 1280; females = 1684). Inception rates for each 5-year age division were adjusted for the background population age-structure as a rate per 100 000 population.

Results: The age-at-first-registration distribution for affective psychosis has a wide age range, with women outnumbering men. There is a near-linear increase in inception rates for both men and women with 296.1 only, while the bulk of those with affective psychoses (296 other) have an inverted U-shaped age distribution. Males have an earlier modal age-atfirst- registration for 296 other compared to females.

Conclusion: The heterogeneity in terms of subtypes and sex in affective psychosis clouds the interpretation of age-at-first-registration. Separating those with unipolar psychotic depression from other subclassifications and differentiating by sex may provide clues to factors that precipitate the onset of affective psychosis.

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