Prevalence and associated risk factors of psychotic symptoms in homeless people in France

Introduction Homeless people are more likely to have higher prevalence of psychotic disorders than general population. However, we know less about the prevalence of psychotic symptoms in this group. Objectives To estimate the lifetime and current prevalence of psychotic symptoms and their correlates among homeless people living in the Paris metropolitan area. Methods We analysed data from 839 homeless randomly selected for the “Samenta” survey that studied mental health and addiction problems in this population. The mini-international neuropsychiatric interview was used to assess psychotic symptoms. Separate multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate the associations of sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender, education level and migrant status), early life experiences (sexual abuse, physical and psychological violence, substance use) and psychiatric disorders. Results The lifetime prevalence of psychotic symptoms was 35.4% (95% CI = 28.1–43.5) and the prevalence of current symptoms was 14,0% (95% CI = 9,8–19,6) with no significant difference between migrant and native groups, after exclusion of subjects with a diagnosis of psychotic disorder (n = 145). In multi-adjusted models, childhood sexual abuse was associated with an increased risk of lifetime or current psychotic symptoms (OR > 4, P Conclusion Homeless people are at higher risk of psychotic symptoms compared to the general population in France. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that childhood abuse is an important risk factor of the psychosis continuum.