Specific Mental Health Disorders: Psychotic Disorders

This article provides an overview of the main characteristics of psychotic disorders, which are a major group of mental illnesses, dealing with schizophrenia and mood disorders in detail. After an introduction to the terminology and history, a brief description of symptoms, diagnosis, causes, treatment, course, and outcome of the disorders is given. Issues that are relevant from the public health viewpoint, namely, morbidity and mortality, disability and disease burden, cost of care, stigma, and inequity of care are discussed subsequently. Major changes such as deinstitutionalization, early intervention, and consumer and family support movements that have attempted to address the issue of reducing the burden of disease are described, followed by a presentation of suggestions on effective management from the perspective of reducing the public health impact of psychotic disorders.