Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26263900›Full record

SynthesisBMC psychiatry2015

An evaluation of variation in published estimates of schizophrenia prevalence from 1990─2013: a systematic literature review.

Jason C Simeone, Alexandra J Ward, Philip Rotella, Jenna Collins, Ricarda Windisch

Open access · goldAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC psychiatry, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 139 papers, 14 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
139citing papers in PubMed, 14 pooled it
12.2field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

139 citing papers in PubMed, 14 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 327 citations in OpenAlex.

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  2. The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry · 2026
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79 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Jason C SimeoneEvidera, 430 Bedford Street, Suite 300, Lexington, MA, 02420, USA. jason.simeone@evidera.com.
Alexandra J WardEvidera, 430 Bedford Street, Suite 300, Lexington, MA, 02420, USA. alex.ward@evidera.com.
Philip RotellaEvidera, 430 Bedford Street, Suite 300, Lexington, MA, 02420, USA. Philip.rotella@evidera.com.
Jenna CollinsEvidera, 430 Bedford Street, Suite 300, Lexington, MA, 02420, USA. jennamcollins@gmail.com.
Ricarda WindischF. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Basel, Switzerland. ricarda.windisch@gmail.com.
Ithaka Harbors · USRoche (Switzerland) · CH

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThere is a lack of consistency in findings across studies on the prevalence of schizophrenia, and no recent systematic review of the literature exists. The purpose of this study is to provide an updated systematic review of population-based prevalence estimates and to understand the factors that could account for this variation in prevalence estimates.

methodsMEDLINE, Embase, and PsycInfo databases were searched for observational studies describing schizophrenia prevalence in general populations from 2003-2013 and supplemented by studies from a prior review covering 1990-2002. Studies reporting prevalence estimates from specialized populations such as institutionalized, homeless, or incarcerated persons were excluded. Prevalence estimates were compared both across and within studies by factors that might contribute to variability using descriptive statistics.

resultsSixty-five primary studies were included; thirty-one (48 %) were from Europe and 35 (54 %) were conducted in samples of ≥50,000 persons. Among 21 studies reporting 12-month prevalence, the median estimate was 0.33 % with an interquartile range (IQR) of 0.26 %-0.51 %. The median estimate of lifetime prevalence among 29 studies was 0.48 % (IQR: 0.34 %-0.85 %). Prevalence across studies appeared to vary by study design, geographic region, time of assessment, and study quality scores; associations between study sample size and prevalence were not observed. Within studies, age-adjusted estimates were higher than crude estimates by 17 %-138 %, the use of a broader definition of schizophrenia spectrum disorders compared to schizophrenia increased case identification by 18 %-90 %, identification of cases from inpatient-only settings versus any setting decreased prevalence by 60 %, and no consistent trends were noted by differing diagnostic criteria.

conclusionsThis review provides updated information on the epidemiology of schizophrenia in general populations, which is vital information for many stakeholders. Study characteristics appear to play an important role in the variation between estimates. Overall, the evidence is still sparse; for many countries no new studies were identified.

Indexed as

EuropeHumansPrevalenceSchizophreniaTime Factors

Identifiers

PMID26263900
PMCPMC4533792
OpenAlexW1906444297

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.