Jablensky A, Sartorius N
Institute of Neurology, Psychiatry and Neurosurgery, Medical Academy, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Acta Psychiatr Scand Suppl. 1988;344:65-70. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1988.tb09003.x.
The question whether schizophrenia occurs in similar forms in different populations and cultures was first raised by Kraepelin at the turn of the century. However, methodological difficulties have impeded for decades the development of comparative cross-cultural research, and it was not until the 1960s that investigations of the kind Kraepelin envisaged became feasible. A major role in launching multi-centre clinical and epidemiological studies of schizophrenia in over 20 countries in different parts of the world has been played by the World Health Organization. The WHO studies have demonstrated that: (I) syndromes of schizophrenia occur in all cultures and geographical areas investigated; (II) their rate of incidence is very similar in the different populations; (III) the course and prognosis of schizophrenia is extremely variable, but outcome is significantly better in the developing countries. These findings have fundamental implications for the conceptualization of schizophrenia and for designing strategies of new research.
精神分裂症在不同人群和文化中是否以相似形式出现的问题最早是由克雷佩林在世纪之交提出的。然而，方法上的困难阻碍了比较跨文化研究数十年的发展，直到20世纪60年代，克雷佩林所设想的那种调查才变得可行。世界卫生组织在发起对世界不同地区20多个国家的精神分裂症进行多中心临床和流行病学研究方面发挥了主要作用。世卫组织的研究表明：（I）在所有被调查的文化和地理区域都出现了精神分裂症综合征；（II）它们在不同人群中的发病率非常相似；（III）精神分裂症的病程和预后差异极大，但在发展中国家结果明显更好。这些发现对精神分裂症的概念化以及新研究策略的设计具有根本性的意义。
