Social environmental risk factors for transition to psychosis in an Ultra-High Risk population

Abstract

ObjectiveDespite social environmental factors such as deprivation, urbanicity, migration and adversity being established risk factors for psychotic disorders, there is a paucity of knowledge on the influence of social environmental risk factors in the UHR population. Firstly, we aimed to investigate the association between social deprivation and risk of transition and secondly, we aimed to investigate the association between migration status and the risk of transition. MethodUHR individuals at the Personal Assessment and Crisis Evaluation (PACE) service in Melbourne were included. Social deprivation as assessed according to postal code area of residence was obtained from census data and Cox regression analysis was used to calculate hazard ratios. ResultsA total of 219 UHR individuals were included and over the median follow-up time of 4.8years, 32 individuals (14.6%) were known to have transitioned to a psychotic disorder. 8.8% of UHR individuals were first generation migrants and 41.9% were second generation migrants. The level of social deprivation was not associated with the risk of transition (p=0.83). Similarly, first or second generation migrants did not have an increased risk of transition to psychosis (p=0.84). ConclusionsDespite being established risk factors for psychotic disorders, social deprivation and migrant status have not been found to increase the risk of transition in a UHR population.