Prevalence of hepatitis B markers in psychiatric in-patients in Singapore: a pilot study.

The prevalence of hepatitis B infection among 71 patients in an adult psychiatric hospital was determined by testing for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), its antibody (anti-HBs) and antibody against hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc). The results showed 12.7 per cent positive for HBsAg, 63.

Prevalence of mental disorders in the elderly in Singapore--a preliminary report.

A random sample of 1,000 subjects aged 65 or more were selected from the electoral register of 3 constituencies in Singapore. Only 612 subjects could be interviewed at a day centre or at home. The prevalence of dementia in the sample was 1.

Psychiatric referrals of elderly patients in a general hospital.

In a study of 60 elderly patients in a general hospital referred for psychiatric assessment, the commonest psychiatric disorders were depressive illness (41.6%) and dementia (35.0%).

A cross-cultural study of the possession-trance in Singapore.

Possession-trance is a common culture-bound syndrome in Singapore. The characteristic features as seen in 36 young men of the three different ethnic communities are described. At follow-up four to five years later, none of the 26 who could be contacted showed any evidence of mental illness.

Genetic marker association in schizophrenia: ABO, MN, Rhesus and Lewis blood groups.

One hundred and twelve Chinese male patients suffering from schizophrenia were investigated for the distribution of A1A2BO, MN, Rhesus (genotypes) and Lewis(a) blood groups. The same genetic markers were investigated in 114 Chinese male blood donors. Two more published series--one on the distribution of ABO blood groups and the other on Le(a) blood groups in healthy Chinese males were also used as additional control series.

Creatine phosphokinase and schizophrenia in Singapore.

This is a study to find out whether serum creatine phosphokinase activity (CPK) is raised in Oriental schizophrenic patients. CPK was found to be elevated in Caucasian schizophrenic patients more commonly during the acute period of the illness. The CPK involved is the skeletal isoenzyme CPK (MM) and not the brain isoenzyme CPK(BB).