Am J Psychiatry 1992; 149:1081-1085
Copyright © 1992 by American Psychiatric Association
Prevalence of tardive dyskinesia, tardive dystonia, and respiratory dyskinesia among Chinese psychiatric patients in Hong Kong
H Chiu, P Shum, J Lau, L Lam and S Lee
Department of Psychiatry, Chinese University of Hong Kong.
OBJECTIVE: Only scanty information on the prevalence of tardive dyskinesia
in Chinese patients has been available. This study was undertaken to
examine the prevalence of tardive dyskinesia, tardive dystonia, and
respiratory dyskinesia in Chinese psychiatric patients in Hong Kong.
METHOD: All inpatients of a mental hospital in Hong Kong, except those in
the admission and children's wards, were surveyed with the Abnormal
Involuntary Movement Scale, and standard research criteria were used to
establish the diagnosis of tardive dyskinesia. In addition, patients were
screened for tardive dystonia, according to published criteria, and for
respiratory dyskinesia by physical examination and laboratory tests.
RESULTS: Among the 917 patients surveyed, the prevalence rates were 9.3%
for tardive dyskinesia, 0.4% for tardive dystonia, and 1.2% for respiratory
dyskinesia. With multivariate analysis, greater age and a lower current
dose of antipsychotic, but not the presence of mood disorder, were factors
found to be significantly associated with tardive dyskinesia. CONCLUSIONS:
The prevalence rates were much lower than those found in Western studies.
This may indicate that there is an ethnic difference in the prevalence of
these conditions. Prospective cross-cultural studies are necessary to
explore this possibility.
