Incidence and 12-month outcome of childhood non-affectivepsychoses: British national surveillance study

The schizophrenias are uncommon before the age of 14 butincidence/prevalence figures are lacking. The 1-year incidence, clinicalfeatures and short-term outcomes in childhood-onset schizophrenia spectrumdisorder were evaluated via the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry SurveillanceSystem. Fifteen children with a provisional diagnosis were reported. Outcomedata were obtained for 12 individuals, 8 of whom met the diagnosticcriteria, equating to an estimated incidence of 0.21/100 000 (95% CI0.08–0.34). Delusions and thought disorder were a more consistent predictorof ‘caseness' than hallucinations. Illness outcomes at 1 year were generallypoor. Childhood-onset schizophrenia appears to be a rare but seriousdisorder.