Mental illness, poverty and stigma in India: a case control study

Objective: To assess the effect of experienced stigma on depth of multidimensional poverty of persons with severe mental illness (PSMI) in Delhi, India, controlling for gender, age and caste. Design: Matching case (hospital)–control (population) study. Setting: University Hospital (cases) and National Capital Region (controls), India. Participants: A case–control study was conducted from November 2011 to June 2012. 647 cases diagnosed with schizophrenia or affective disorders were recruited and 647 individuals of same age, sex and location of residence were matched as controls at a ratio of 1:2:1. Individuals who refused consent or provided incomplete interview were excluded. Main outcome measures: Higher risk of poverty due to stigma among PSMI. Results: 38.5% of PSMI compared with 22.2% of controls were found poor on six dimensions or more. The difference in multidimensional poverty index was 69% between groups with employment and income of the main contributors. Multidimensional pove...