Marital Status of Persons with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders in a Rural Community in India: A Follow-up Study

Background: Persons with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) are known to have lower rates of marriage and higher rates of divorce or separation than the general population. Marital status is influenced by sociocultural milieu. Studies from low- and middle-income countries on the marital status of persons with SSD are sparse. Methods: In this study, we studied the marital status of 345 individuals with SSD in a rural community in South India over an average follow-up period of about 11 years. The data were drawn from an ongoing cohort of patients with SSD being followed up in a community care project. Results: The percentage of participants with SSD who were married at the baseline was about 66%; it increased to about 73% over the follow-up period. A significantly higher proportion of women participants were married both at baseline (74.3% of women vs. 56% of men; P < 0.01) and at follow-up (81% of women vs. 64% of men; P < 0.01). The rates of divorce and separation were, respectively, 0.8% and 6.4%. Conclusion: The marital status of individuals with SSD in this rural South Indian cohort is comparable to other urban and rural parts of India and was substantially different from that in higher-income countries. Sociocultural factors may explain these differences.