Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2012 Apr;47(4):533-43.
doi: 10.1007/s00127-011-0371-y. Epub 2011 Mar 29.

Treatment prevalence and incidence of schizophrenia in Quebec using a population health services perspective: different algorithms, different estimates

Alain Vanasse  1 , Josiane Courteau, Marie-Josée Fleury, Jean-Pierre Grégoire, Alain Lesage, Jocelyne Moisan
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Treatment prevalence and incidence of schizophrenia in Quebec using a population health services perspective: different algorithms, different estimates

Alain Vanasse et al. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2012 Apr.

Abstract

Purpose: Using a population health services perspective, this article defines and assesses an efficient criteria-based algorithm to identify treatment prevalent and incident cases of schizophrenia. We refer here "treatment" prevalence and incidence since its evaluation depends on a patient receiving a health care service with a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Methods: A population-based cohort study was conducted among all adults having a hospital discharge or a physician claim for schizophrenia in the public health plan databases between January 1996 and December 2006. Four algorithms to characterize patients with schizophrenia were defined. To identify treatment incident cases in 2006, we removed from the treatment prevalent pool patients with a previous record of schizophrenia between 1996 and 2006 (10-year clearance period). Using this 10-year period as reference, Kappa coefficients (KC) and positive predictive values (PPV) were calculated to determine the "optimal" length of clearance period to identify incident cases.

Results: The lifetime treatment prevalence and incidence of schizophrenia varied from 0.59 to 1.46% and from 42 to 94 per 100,000, respectively. When compared to the 10-year clearance period, the KC is excellent in a clearance period of 6-7 years. To achieve a PPV of 90%, a clearance period of 7-8 years would be necessary.

Conclusions: With an appropriate algorithm, treatment prevalence and incidence of schizophrenia can be conveniently estimated using administrative data. These estimates are a vital step toward appropriate planning of services for schizophrenia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2007 Feb 15;6:5 - PubMed
    1. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2002 Nov;37(11):527-31 - PubMed
    1. Diabetes Care. 1996 Aug;19(8):807-11 - PubMed
    1. Sante Ment Que. 2009 Spring;34(1):161-72 - PubMed
    1. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2005 Oct;40(10):808-16 - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources