First episode psychosis and ethnicity: initial findings from the AESOP study.

In this paper we provide an overview of the design and the initial findings of the AESOP (Aetiology and Ethnicity in Schizophrenia and Other Psychoses) study. The AESOP study is a major multi-centre incidence and case-control study conducted in the UK. Its primary aim is to investigate the high rates of psychosis in African-Caribbean populations from the UK, and from this to shed light on the aetiology of psychosis in general. As the study has progressed, the wealth of data collected has allowed further questions to be addressed: for example, about determinants of duration of untreated psychosis. Initial findings relating to incidence rates and between-case comparisons are presented. Future planned analyses are outlined and details of a follow-up of the AESOP cohort and ongoing international collaborations are provided.