ABSTRACT
How common is schizophrenia? Schizophrenia is one of the commonest forms of severe mental illness. Approximately one in every 100 people worldwide is affected by schizophrenia before they reach the age of 45 years. It is a major challenge for those working in primary care because of the frequency, the long duration of the illness, the severity of the disability it can cause from the perspectives of both the patient with schizophrenia and their family, and the high economic costs of providing health and social care.1,2
An estimated 250000 people living in the UK are suffering from schizophrenia at any one time. The incidence varies with age, being about one in 10000 per year, the highest rates being in young men aged 16 to 25 years and in women aged 26 to 36 years. Men usually develop a more severe form of the illness. The prevalence worldwide is thought to be 2-4 per lOOO.1^ The rates are higher in people who live in inner-city areas.
