Gender Imbalance in Clinical Trials in Schizophrenia

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Sir: A recent study on the prevalence of schizophrenia inthe general population using a structured clinical interviewevidenced no sex difference in lifetime prevalence: 0.82%(95% CI = 0.56 to 1.19) for men and 0.91% (0.65 to 1.27) forwomen.¹ These figures are in agreement with a review of 1721prevalence estimates of schizophrenia from 188 epidemiologicallyheterogeneous studies (published between 1965 and2002) showing no significant differences between genders.²Our own records from Puente de Vallecas Health Center inMadrid, Spain, which is the referral mental health center forapproximately 250,000 inhabitants, showed a male/female ratioof 1.33 among the 1104 patients who received a diagnosisof schizophrenia (based on ICD-9 criteria) between 1990 and2005.’ ‹