The one-month prevalence and correlates of psychotic-like experiences in the general adult population in Nigeria

There is now substantial evidence that psychosis exists in a continuum. This study assessed the rate and correlates of distressing psychotic-like events (PLEs) in a non-clinical population in Lagos, Nigeria. A face-to-face household survey was completed by 11,246 adult participants (aged 18-75 years). Clinically significant symptoms of PLE were assessed using the Prodromal Questionnaire Brief Version (PQ-B) while depression, generalized anxiety, and somatic symptoms were assessed using the specific modules of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) respectively. Family history of mental illness, alcohol use disorders, psychoactive substance use disorders (and specifically cannabis use disorder), and disability were also assessed. The mean age in years was 36.7 (sd = 12.3) with 6,525 (58.0%) females. a total of 7022 (62.4%) endorsed at least one PLE symptom. The mean PQ-B distress score was 2.65 (sd = 4.32) with 1465 (13.0%) categorized as having clinically significant PLE). The regression model showed that only age 18-24 years (OR 1.64), female gender (OR 1.16), history of mental illness in the immediate family (OR 1.46), cannabis use disorder (OR 1.56), and general substance use disorders (OR 1.72) were independently associated with clinically significant PLEs. We have shown clinically significant PLEs symptoms are relatively common in non-help-seeking Nigerian adults and both genetic and environmental factors may play a role. A follow-up study to ascertain the short-term progression of participants in this study in terms of changes in PLE status, the transition to psychosis or other mental health disorders, and contact with mental health services is currently underway.