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What is the duration of untreated psychosis worldwide? - A meta-analysis of pooled mean and median time and regional trends and other correlates across 369 studies

  • Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
  • King's College London
  • Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
  • SLaM South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
  • IiSGM
  • Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón
  • Hospital Universitario Basurto
  • Zucker Hillside Hospital
  • Zucker School of Medicine
  • The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research
  • Servicio de Medicina Interna y Enfermedades Infecciosas, Hospital del Mar-IMIM and RETICEF
  • TiPP Program Department of Psychiatry
  • Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois
  • Hosp Univ Virgen del Rocio, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocio, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocio
  • Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu
  • Grup MERITT: Etiopatogènia i Tractament Dels Trastorns Mentals Greus
  • Hospital Sant Joan de Déu
  • Germanes Hospitalàries
  • University of Zaragoza; Instituto de Investigacion Sanitaria de Aragon (IIS) and Centro de Investigacion Biomedica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Zaragoza, Spain.
  • Hospital Benito Menni
  • Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology Department
  • Nuclear Medicine Department, Hospital Clinic, Barcelona, Spain.
  • Institute of Clinical Sciences (ICS)
  • Imperial College London
  • Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences
  • University of Pavia
  • The Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
  • Pettenkofer School of Public Health

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

39 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) has been associated with poor mental health outcomes. We aimed to meta-analytically estimate the mean and median DUP worldwide, evaluating also the influence of several moderating factors. This PRISMA/MOOSE-compliant meta-analysis searched for non-overlapping individual studies from inception until 9/12/2022, reporting mean ± s.d. or median DUP in patients with first episode psychosis (FEP), without language restrictions. We conducted random-effect meta-analyses, stratified analyses, heterogeneity analyses, meta-regression analyses, and quality assessment (PROSPERO:CRD42020163640). From 12 461 citations, 369 studies were included. The mean DUP was 42.6 weeks (95% confidence interval (CI) 40.6-44.6, k = 283, n = 41 320), varying significantly across continents (p < 0.001). DUP was (in descending order) 70.0 weeks (95% CI 51.6-88.4, k = 11, n = 1508) in Africa; 48.8 weeks (95% CI 43.8-53.9, k = 73, n = 12 223) in Asia; 48.7 weeks (95% CI 43.0-54.4, k = 36, n = 5838) in North America; 38.6 weeks (95% CI 36.0-41.3, k = 145, n = 19 389) in Europe; 34.9 weeks (95% CI 23.0-46.9, k = 11, n = 1159) in South America and 28.0 weeks (95% CI 20.9-35.0, k = 6, n = 1203) in Australasia. There were differences depending on the income of countries: DUP was 48.4 weeks (95% CI 43.0-48.4, k = 58, n = 5635) in middle-low income countries and 41.2 weeks (95% CI 39.0-43.4, k = 222, n = 35 685) in high income countries. Longer DUP was significantly associated with older age (β = 0.836, p < 0.001), older publication year (β = 0.404, p = 0.038) and higher proportion of non-White FEP patients (β = 0.232, p < 0.001). Median DUP was 14 weeks (Interquartile range = 8.8-28.0, k = 206, n = 37 215). In conclusion, DUP is high throughout the world, with marked variation. Efforts to identify and intervene sooner in patients with FEP, and to promote global mental health and access to early intervention services (EIS) are critical, especially in developing countries.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)652-662
Number of pages11
JournalPsychological Medicine
Volume54
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 Mar 2024

Keywords

  • duration of untreated psychosis
  • early intervention
  • first episode psychosis
  • meta-analysis

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