Delusional disorder: jealous and nonjealous types.

We studied the records of 101 patients with delusional disorder admitted to the Psychiatric Hospital between 1920 and 1980 and divided the sample into those with jealous (43) and those with nonjealous (58) delusions. Patients and relatives were located by telephone and follow-up information was collected. Compared with the nonjealous patients, the jealous ones were more likely to have had a single delusion, and to have experienced a more benign course as indicated by a lower rate of hospitalization and outpatient treatment. The original delusion tended to remain and the illness did not develop into another form of delusional disorder or other psychiatric illness.