Risk of Psychosis in Yorkshire South Asians

Background: Migration is a risk factor for psychoses but risks within the large South Asian communities of West Yorkshire are not known.

Aim: To estimate the risk of psychosis in the Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Indian populations in West Yorkshire as compared with British White population.

Method: We used data from Early Intervention for Psychosis services on 15–35 year-olds diagnosed with first episode psychosis in 2013–2015 and local census data to calculate risks.

Results: Compared with the British White population, the Pakistani population had a significantly higher risk of first episode psychosis (RR 1.31, 95% CI 1.09, 1.58). The smaller Bangladeshi population showed a similar, but non-significant, trend (RR 1.50, 95% CI 0.89, 2.53). In contrast, the Indian population had a significantly lower risk (RR 0.51, 95% CI 0.33, 0.79).

Conclusion: Variable risk of psychosis among south Asian ethnic groups in West Yorkshire needs further research.