Published online by JAMA Psychiatry, a study of Sweden patients suggested that trigger events like exposure to violence were linked to elevated risk of violent crime in the week after the exposure in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder patients and among the ones without psychiatric diagnoses, involved in the study for comparison.

Schizophrenia spectrum and bipolar disorders patients have higher rates of criminal convictions in comparison to the normal population. The detection of triggers for violence may be potentially hold significance for risk assessment. But there isn’t sufficient proof of triggers for violence in psychosis patients.

Seena Fazel, MD, of the University of Oxford, along with coauthors, relied upon Swedish data for individuals born between 1958 and 1988 collected from across the nation to check different triggers for violent acts in patients of psychotic disorders and the ones without a psychiatric diagnosis.

The research sample involved over 2.8 million people, wherein 34,903 patients suffered from schizophrenia spectrum disorders, 29,692 had bipolar disorder and over 2.7 million general control individuals included for comparison.

The study checked six triggers, including violence exposure, self-harm, parental bereavement, traumatic brain injury, substance intoxication and accidental injuries.

The study findings suggested that absolute risks for violent crime in the days after exposure to a trigger were typically elevated in individuals suffering from schizophrenia, followed by the ones with bipolar disorder and then came the general control participants without any psychiatric diagnoses.

It suggested that exposure to violence was accountable for the highest absolute risks of a violent offense in the week after the trigger exposure.