The analysis of a representative population - inhabitants of the city of Mannheim that numbered 315,000 over 4 years (1974-1977) - clearly showed low rates for all groups of psychic diseases among foreign workers and their relatives in comparison with the German population and with the non-homogeneous group of 'foreign immigrants'. One reason for this is the extraordinary age structure of the foreign worker population that has a high overrepresentation of the younger age groups in both sexes - and also of children under 16 years of age. The need for psychiatric care is therefore, in the first place, much less than in the German population. But, if the age and sex are checked, there is a very clear difference between the German population and the quantitatively most important nationalities among the foreign workers: Turks, Italians, and Yugoslavs. In particular, in all diagnostic groups with a tendency to chronification such as schizophrenias, organic cerebral syndromes and illnesses caused by alcohol, the prevalence rates of the foreign workers are considerably lower. In the group of neurotic and depressive diseases the difference is less marked, but is always evident. The foreign immigrants who also include refugees from Eastern Europe, surpass the German inhabitants in neurotic and depressive diseases in some age groups with regard to prevalence. Relatives of foreign workers under 25 years - obviously especially the young ones - approximate, like the adults who have been in Germany for a long time, the prevalence pattern of the German population. This comes out clearly with regard to alcoholism that, on the whole, is very rare among foreign workers. The most likely explanation for this finding is to be sought in 2 selection factors, that become active in emigration, one motivational - the desire by working in a foreign country to improve the economic conditions of their own family - and an administrative factor, namely, medical examination of the candidates. In a comparison of foreigners and Germans it becomes clear that even checking the social variables does not bring to light any overrepresentation of psychic diseases in the foreign group. Also attempted suicides, acute mental crises and neglect are seen less often or, at least, not more often, than in the German records. Surprisingly the analysis of psychiatric care shows that the foreign workers prefer the psychiatric institutions run by the municipality. In any case a quantitative distinction is not evident in Mannheim.

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central nervous system psychological aspect mental health human epidemiology Mental Disorders Germany, West mental disease foreign worker male female Article major clinical study Support, Non-U.S. Gov't migration age ethnic or racial aspects Emigration and Immigration german federal republic