Abstract

To determine and compare the prevalence and other characteristics of delusional disorder (DD) in two adjacent neighborhoods of Barcelona, La Verneda and La Mina, which differ greatly in their socioeconomic level and psychosocial risk factors.Cross-sectional study, by neighborhood, of all cases recorded between 1982 and 2000 in the electronic Case Registry of the La Verneda-La Mina Mental Health Unit. This unit of the Primary Health Care system serves 103,615 inhabitants and has high levels of accessibility.Of 21,536 mental health case records, 209 patients fulfilled the DD definition according to SASPE criteria (DSM-IV-TR), representing a population prevalence of 0.20% and 0.97% of case records. The DD case prevalence was significantly greater in the neighborhood characterized by an overload of psychosocial risk factors, than in the middle- and working-class neighborhood.(1) The prevalence of DD indicated in the present community study is much higher than the prevalence reported by other, mainly hospital-based, studies. (2) These experiences/disorders are probably more common in areas characterized by the presence of psychosocial and socioeconomic risk factors. (3) People with DD in these at-risk environments have higher fecundity and fertility than the general population of Barcelona and Catalonia. © 2013 Taylor & Francis.