Background: Urban birth and migrant status have been identified as risk factors for psychosis in North American and European studies. The aim of this study was to explore these variables in an Australian case-control study.
Method: Country of birth of subjects and their parents, and place of birth of Australian-born subjects, were examined in individuals with psychosis drawn from a prevalence study (n = 310) and well controls recruited from the same catchment area (n = 303).
Results: Migrant status was associated with a significantly decreased odds of having a psychotic disorder. For those born in Australia, neither migrant status of parents nor urban birth was associated with having a psychotic disorder.
Conclusions: The lack of effect for urban birth and second-generation migrant status may help generate candidate environmental risk factors that operate in Europe but not in Australia.