The DOSMED STUDY - Introduction

The DOSMED study (1978-82) was the first international multi-centre study using standardised measures of psychopathology to provide comparable descriptions of comparisons between countries and provide estimates of incidence of schizophrenia, its course & outcome. 

 

Twelve centres in ten countries were involved:

Denmark - Aarhus*

India - Agra and Chandigarh*

Colombia - Cali

Ireland - Dublin*

USA - Honolulu* and Rochester

Nigeria - Ibadan

USSR - Moscow*

Japan - Nagasaki*

UK - Nottingham*

Czechoslovakia - Prague

 

Arrangements were made to identify and assess individuals, over a two year period: 

• Aged 15-54

• Resident in the area for at least 6 months

• Showing at least one overt symptom - hallucinations, delusions, qualitative thought or speech disorder or gross behavioural abnormalities - or two abnormalities suggestive of psychotic disorder - episodic excitement, significant social withdrawal, overwhelming fear

• Making a first lifetime contact with a helping agency

Individuals with gross organic cerebral disorder or prior contact with agencies due to mental disorder were excluded. All centres identified first episode cases, although only seven (*) did so from defined populations to give robust incidence estimates. 

 

See:

Psychological Medicine Monograph Supplement , Volume 20: Schizophrenia: manifestations, incidence and course in different cultures A World Health Organization Ten-Country Study , 1992 , pp. 1 - 97. 

 

Detail by study centre can be found in: 

Recovery from Schizophrenia: An International Perspective Edited by Kim Hooper, Glyn Harrison, Aleksander Janca & Norman Sartorius. Oxford University Press. 2007.  ISBN 9780195313673.

 

The Nottingham Psychiatric Archive contains:

SCHEDULES: The rating schedules used in the study. Download from 'DOSMED schedules'.

DATA: Schedule data at study entry and year 2, as SPSS .SAV files. Download from 'DOSMED data'.

NARRATIVE SUMMARIES: Descriptive summaries for each individual at each time point.