Racial discrimination may increase psychosis risk

Being racially or ethnically discriminated against may increase the risk of later developing psychotic symptoms, finds a major review of international evidence led by UCL researchers in collaboration with King's College London.

The authors of the new umbrella review, published in PLOS Mental Health, found consistent evidence from numerous studies that racial and ethnic discrimination appears to contribute to the development of psychosis.

The findings help to explain previously reported elevated rates of psychotic disorders among ethnic minority groups.

The researchers, based at UCL and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London, reviewed evidence from seven published systematic reviews and meta-analyses that covered a total of 23 primary studies with 40,300 participants in Europe and the US.

Many studies identified a positive relationship between racial or ethnic discrimination and psychosis, which is a mental state where someone loses touch with reality, experiencing symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, confused thinking, and disorganised behaviour. These symptoms underlie severe mental health conditions such as schizophrenia.

Read more on the original article : https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/racial-discrimination-may-increase-psychosis-risk