The stressful minority position of transgender persons may result in a high risk of psychosis. Conflicting data suggest that the observed risk depends on setting of recruitment. We assessed the relative risk of non-affective psychotic disorder (NAPD) in a large, representative cohort of transgender persons.

This cohort was composed using: data on legal sex change from the Dutch population registry and data on dispensing of cross-sex hormones (route 1), and a registry of insurance claims from mental health care including persons with a diagnosis of gender identity disorder (DSM-IV) or gender dysphoria (DSM-5) (route 2). They were matched by sex at birth, calendar year and country of birth to controls from the general population. Transgender persons (N = 5564) and controls (N = 27 820), aged 16–60 years at 1 January 2011, were followed until the first insurance claim for NAPD in 2011–2019.

The incidence rate ratio (IRR) of NAPD for transgender persons selected exclusively through route 1 (N = 3859, IRR = 2.00, 95%-CI 1.52–2.63) was increased, but significantly lower than the IRRs for those selected exclusively through route 2 (N = 694, IRR = 22.15, 95%-CI 13.91–35.28) and for those found by both routes (N = 1011, IRR = 5.17, 95%-CI 3.57–7.49; p value for differences in IRR < 0.001).

This study supports the social defeat-hypothesis of NAPD. The results also show the presence of a substantial number of transgender persons with severe psychiatric problems who have not (yet) taken steps to gender-affirmative care.

The high risk of psychosis among migrants is often attributed to social stressors in the host country. We examined whether the relative risk of psychosis among migrants is low on arrival and increases thereafter.

In this cohort study, first-generation immigrants to the Netherlands, aged 10 years and older (N = 1 281 678), were matched by birth year and sex to 2 542 313 native-born Dutch controls. The first occurrence of psychosis after arrival was established using data on dispensing of antipsychotic medication (APM) (during 2006–2017) and on insurance claims for treatment of psychosis (2011–2016). The Incidence Rate Ratios (IRRs) for migrants compared to controls were estimated by year since arrival.

The IRR of APM was 0.22 (95% CI 0.21–0.24) in the year of arrival (‘year 1’) and increased gradually to 1.39 (1.19–1.62) after 10 or more years. The IRR of an insurance claim increased from 0.57 (0.51–0.62) to 1.87 (1.38–2.55) in year 5. Among migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, the IRR of an insurance claim was already high in year 1 [2.46 (1.95–3.11)], especially when aged 10–20 years at arrival [6.09 (2.93–12.64)]. Among migrants from other non-Western countries, the IRR was already significantly increased in year 2 [1.28 (1.03–1.59)].

The relative risk of psychosis among migrants was generally low at arrival and increased thereafter. The increased IRRs in the early years after arrival among those from non-Western countries indicate that for these groups certain risk factors are already relevant shortly after arrival.

In Europe, the incidence of psychotic disorder is high in certain migrant and minority ethnic groups (hence: ‘minorities’). However, it is unknown how the incidence pattern for these groups varies within this continent. Our objective was to compare, across sites in France, Italy, Spain, the UK and the Netherlands, the incidence rates for minorities and the incidence rate ratios (IRRs, minorities v. the local reference population).

The European Network of National Schizophrenia Networks Studying Gene–Environment Interactions (EU-GEI) study was conducted between 2010 and 2015. We analyzed data on incident cases of non-organic psychosis (International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition, codes F20–F33) from 13 sites.

The standardized incidence rates for minorities, combined into one category, varied from 12.2 in Valencia to 82.5 per 100 000 in Paris. These rates were generally high at sites with high rates for the reference population, and low at sites with low rates for the reference population. IRRs for minorities (combined into one category) varied from 0.70 (95% CI 0.32–1.53) in Valencia to 2.47 (95% CI 1.66–3.69) in Paris (test for interaction: p = 0.031). At most sites, IRRs were higher for persons from non-Western countries than for those from Western countries, with the highest IRRs for individuals from sub-Saharan Africa (adjusted IRR = 3.23, 95% CI 2.66–3.93).

Incidence rates vary by region of origin, region of destination and their combination. This suggests that they are strongly influenced by the social context.

To provide an overview of epidemiological studies of dementia among migrant groups in Europe and to estimate their pooled odds ratio (OR) v. the reference population.

Search for articles reporting on incidence or prevalence of dementia among ethnic minorities and migrants in Europe, published before 21 December 2018. We performed several meta-analyses, using a random-effects model, and, when there was no evidence of heterogeneity, a fixed-effects model. We distinguished between all migrants, African-Europeans and Asian-Europeans.

We retrieved five population-based surveys and two health care record studies. The latter included one incidence study, the remainder were prevalence studies. The meta-analysis of all studies yielded a pooled OR, adjusted for age and sex, of 1.73 (95% CI 1.42–2.11) for dementia in all migrant groups. However, the pooled OR of population surveys (3.10; 95% CI 2.12–4.51) was significantly higher than that for the health care record studies (OR 0.94; 95% CI 0.80–1.11). The pooled ORs for African-Europeans and Asian-Europeans, based on population surveys, were 2.54 (95% CI 1.70–3.80) and 5.36 (95% CI 2.78–10.31), respectively.

The discrepancy between health care record studies and population surveys suggests that many migrants remain undiagnosed. Migrants from Asia and Africa seem to be at significantly increased risk of dementia in Europe. Since the prevalence rates in their countries of origin are generally not higher than those for natives in Europe, there may be a parallel with the epidemiology of schizophrenia.

The aims of this meta-analysis are (i) to estimate the pooled relative risk (RR) of developing non-affective psychotic disorder (NAPD) and affective psychotic disorder (APD) among migrants and their children; (ii) to adjust these results for socioeconomic status (SES); (iii) to examine the sources of heterogeneity that underlie the risk of NAPD.

We included population-based incidence studies that reported an age-adjusted RR with 95% confidence interval (CI) published 1 January 1977–12 October 2017 and used a random-effects model.

We retrieved studies performed in Europe (n = 43), Israel (n = 3), Canada (n = 2) and Australia (n = 1). The meta-analysis yielded a RR, adjusted for age and sex, of 2.13 (95% CI 1.99–2.27) for NAPD and 2.94 (95% CI 2.28–3.79) for APD. The RRs diminished, but persisted after adjustment for SES. With reference to NAPD: a personal or parental history of migration to Europe from countries outside Europe was associated with a higher RR (RR = 2.94, 95% CI 2.63–3.29) than migration within Europe (RR = 1.88, 95% 1.62–2.18). The corresponding RR was lower in Israel (RR = 1.22; 0.99–1.50) and Canada (RR = 1.21; 0.85–1.74). The RR was highest among individuals with a black skin colour (RR = 4.19, 95% CI 3.42–5.14). The evidence of a difference in risk between first and second generation was insufficient.

Positive selection may explain the low risk in Canada, while the change from exclusion to inclusion may do the same in Israel. Given the high risks among migrants from developing countries in Europe, social exclusion may have a pathogenic role.