Manic-depressive illness is reported to occur infrequently among some
racial or ethnic groups and among lower socioeconomic groups. The authors
investigated the incidence of manic-depressive illness among a random
sample of 90 lower socioeconomic Hispanic patients admitted to the
psychiatric inpatient unit of an urban hospital. They made a retrospective
diagnosis based on DSM-III criteria and independent of the hospital
diagnosis. Ten patients (11%) were diagnosed as manic- depressive--a rate
three times the national admission rate. The authors discuss the
significance of this finding and its relationship to sociocultural aspects
of the Hispanic patient.Abstract Teaser