TABLE 2.
Epidemiology of DI: classic and large studies (n > 10)
| Author (yr) of study | Countrya | n | Sex ratio (female to male) | Mean or median age (or range) (yr) | Mean or median duration of illness (yr) | Presence of specimen sign or SPDb | Infestation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perrin (1896) | F | 3 | 2:1 | 48 | 0.9 | SS | Unusual flea, lice, parasites |
| Schwarz (1929) | D | 5 | 5:0 | 54 | 1.5 | Lice, small animals and bacteria, insects | |
| Wilhelmi (1935) | D | 5 | 3:2 | 50 | 4 | SPD | Insects (new to science), bacteria |
| Ekbom (1938) | S | 7 | 7:0 | 58 | 1 | SS, SPD | Little insects/animals, mites, pubic lice, worms |
| Wilson and Miller (1946) | USA | 6 | 2:1 | 51 | 7 | SPD | Lice or insects (new to science) |
| Böttcher (1954) | D | 19 | 3.8:1 | 38-68 | SPD | Vermin | |
| Döhring (1960) | D | 77 | 3.5:1 | 50-70 | SS, SPD | Vermin | |
| Skott (1978) | S | 57 | 2.8:1 | 64 | 4 | SS, SPD | Insects, flies, ticks, etc. |
| Lyell (1983 [192]) | UK | 282 (survey) | 2:1 | 19-90 | SS, SPD | Parasites (survey) | |
| Reilly and Batchelor (1986) | UK | 53 (survey) | 1.5:1 | 20-92 | >1 (61%) | Parasites (survey) | |
| Bourgeois et al. (1986) | F | 150 (survey) | 5.7:1 | 68 | >2 (50%) | ||
| Marneros et al. (1988) | D | 28 and 20 | 4:1 | 49-78 | “In skin/body” (organic), “on skin” (schizophrenia) | ||
| Musalek et al. (1989) | A | 107 | 4.6:1 | >2 (29%) | SS | Parasites | |
| Ohtaki (1991) | J | 94 | 1.8:1 | 46/53 (males/females) | SPD | Mites | |
| Trabert (1991) | D | 115 (survey) | 3.1:1 | 60 | 3 (maximum, 35) | SS | |
| Trabert (1993) | D | 35 | 3.4:1 | 59 | 3.25 | SS, SPD | Insects, bacteria, worms, fungi |
| Trabert (1995) | D | 1,223 (review) | 2.4:1 | 57 | 3 | SPD | Review |
| Huber (1997) | D | 36 | 2.3:1 | 25-84 | SS, SPD | ||
| Zomer et al. (1998) | NL | 33 | 1.5:1 | 57 | 1.3 | SS, SPD | Parasites |
| Bhatia et al. (2000) | IND | 52 | 1.7:1 | >0.5 | Insects | ||
| Freudenmann and Lepping (2008) | D | 63 (review) | 1.3:1 | 66 (17-90) | 1.4 (median) | SS, SPD | Review |
| Summary | >1,400 | 1.3-5.7:1 | 17-92 | ∼3 (days to 35 yr) |
a
F, France; D, Germany; USA, United States; S, Sweden; UK, United Kingdom; A, Austria; IND, India; NL, The Netherlands; J, Japan.
b
SS, specimen sign; SPD, shared psychotic disorder.