Cumulative social disadvantage, ethnicity and At risk Mental State: a case control study.
Poster C98, Saturday, October 22, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm, Le Baron
Alessia Avila1, Maria Calem1, Stefania Tognin1, Gemma Modinos1, Mathilde Antonidades1, Matthew Kempton1, Lucia Valmaggia1, Philip McGuire1; 1Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London
Previous case-control studies of patients with psychosis have suggested that social disadvantage are not equally distributed across ethnic groups. This aspect might play a role in explaining the increased incidence of psychosis in ethnic minorities. However a paucity of studies investigated this finding in individuals at risk of psychosis. In this study we investigated the relationship between cumulative social disadvantage and ethnicity in individuals with an At Risk Mental State (ARMS). Social and demographic measures were obtained from ARMS (n=98) and healthy controls (n=40). A cumulative disadvantage index was created following the methodology outlined in a previous study. A logistic regression model was used to analyze the relationship between cumulative indicators of social disadvantage and case-control status within ethnic groups. Mean scores for ARMS (M=3.39, SD=1.32) were significantly higher than for controls (M=2.31, SD=1.05; p<0.001). Logistic Regression indicated that ARMS were more likely to score higher on the index ((ExpB)=2.1, 95%CI 1.45-3.04, p=0.02). This finding was confirmed within the White British and the Black minority sub-samples, however a statistically significant difference in the mean score on the index was found between the two groups: (t (98)=2.51, p=0.014) with participants from the Black minority more likely to score higher ((ExpB=1.4, 95%CI 1.07-1.94, p= .016). We found an association between indicators of social disadvantage and ARMS. Our results suggested that cumulative social disadvantage is predominant in the Black minority group. If the variables considered influence vulnerability to psychosis, their greater prevalence in ethnic minorities may contribute to the reported high incidence in this population.
Topic Area: Ultra High Risk / Prodromal Research