Querulous Paranoia in Chinese Patients: A Cultural Paradox

Abstract

Objective: There has been no reported case of querulous paranoia from the Asian population. A prospective study was undertaken to identify patients with querulous paranoia in an outpatient clinic. Method: One thousand, five hundred and fifty-one new referrals to a university-affiliated psychiatric outpatient clinic in Hong Kong were screened for querulous paranoia during routine clinical work. Results: Three patients with querulous paranoia (0.19%) were identified during 1 year. The case histories of these three patients are reported. Conclusion: Possible reasons for the low reporting rate are discussed and the importance of sociocultural traditions in the development and recognition of querulous paranoia is emphasised.