Migration and Psychosis: Evidence from South Asian Communities in Bradford

Objective: To study the risk of psychosis in south Asian communities in Bradford and investigate the role of cannabis as a contributory factor.

Study Design: Naturalistic studies based on electronic summary records.

Place and Duration of Study: The studies were conducted at the Becklin Centre, St James's University Hospital, Leeds and the University of Leeds, School of Medicine from 2018 to 2020.

Material and Method: A service evaluation and research project looking into the role of cannabis included 194 patients admitted to acute psychiatry wards at the Becklin Centre between 1st January 2016 and 30th November 2018. Epidemiological study used electronic summary records provided by the Bradford Early Intervention for Psychosis Service of 15-35-year old newly diagnosed cases with first episode psychosis in 2013-15 and local census data to calculate the risks ratios. Results: Compared with indigenous white population, Pakistanis in Bradford had significantly higher risk of psychosis (RR: 1.41, 95% CI 1.07, 1.85*). This trend was also seen in Bangladeshi community (RR 1.72, 95% CI 0.91, 3.28*). Indian community, on the other hand, experienced lower risk (RR 0.54, 95% CI 0.20, 1.27).

Conclusion: We found increased risk of psychosis in Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities but not in Indian community.