Rates of treated schizophrenia and its clinical and cultural features in the population isolate of the Iban of Sarawak: a tri-diagnostic approach

We present results of a study of treated rates of schizophrenia among the Iban of Sarawak, Malaysia. Most Iban live in longhouses, each comprising a kindred group of up to 300 individuals. Cultural practices such as minimal intermarriage with members of adjacent ethnic groups and in-depth genealogical knowledge make them a population suitable for genetic investigation. Iban culture is conducive to a focus on symptoms and illness, and to patterns of treatment-seeking behaviour that are enthusiastic and persistent.