An epidemiological study on the prevalence of hallucinations in a general-population sample: Effects of age and sensory modality

Frank Larøi; Josef J Bless; Julien Laloyaux; Bodil Kråkvik; Einar Vedul-Kjelsås; Anne Martha Kalhovde; Marco Hirnstein; Kenneth Hugdahl

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2019.01.003

An epidemiological study on the prevalence of hallucinations in a general-population sample: Effects of age and sensory modality

Psychiatry Res. 2019 Feb:272:707-714. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2019.01.003. Epub 2019 Jan 3.

Authors

Frank Larøi¹, Josef J Bless², Julien Laloyaux³, Bodil Kråkvik⁴, Einar Vedul-Kjelsås⁵, Anne Martha Kalhovde⁶, Marco Hirnstein², Kenneth Hugdahl⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Norway; NORMENT - Norwegian Center of Excellence for Mental Disorders Research, University of Oslo, Norway; Psychology and Neuroscience of Cognition Research Unit, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium. Electronic address: Frank.Laroi@uib.no.
² Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Norway.
³ Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Norway; NORMENT - Norwegian Center of Excellence for Mental Disorders Research, University of Oslo, Norway; Psychology and Neuroscience of Cognition Research Unit, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.
⁴ St. Olavs University Hospital, Division of Psychiatry, Nidaros District Psychiatric Center, Trondheim, Norway.
⁵ Department of Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway; Department of Research and Development, Division of Psychiatry, St. Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.
⁶ Jaeren District Psychiatric Center, Bryne, Norway.
⁷ Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Norway; NORMENT - Norwegian Center of Excellence for Mental Disorders Research, University of Oslo, Norway; Division of Psychiatry, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.

PMID: 30832190
DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2019.01.003

Abstract

Epidemiological studies have repeatedly shown that a significant minority of the general population have experienced hallucinations, however, a potential effect of age on the prevalence of hallucinations in the general population has never been previously examined in a specific study. The aim of the present study was thus to examine the effects of age and sensory modality on hallucination prevalence in a general population sample. A large, randomly selected and representative sample of the Norwegian population completed measures assessing different hallucination modalities (auditory, visual, olfactory, and tactile) and types (sensed presence and hypnagogic/hypnopompic hallucinations). Three age groups were identified and compared: young (19-30 years), middle (31-60) and old (61-96). There was a significant main-effect of age for all hallucination modalities and types, whereby hallucination prevalence significantly decreased with age. We also found that anxiety partially mediated the effect of age on hallucinations whilst depression was a partial suppressor. Concerning the co-occurrence of hallucination modalities, there was very little co-occurrence of auditory and visual hallucinations in all three age groups. In summary, a main-effect of age for hallucination prevalence was observed. Furthermore, individuals reported a more diverse variety of hallucination modalities compared to what is commonly reported in clinical populations.

Keywords: Hypnagogic; Hypnopompic; Olfactory; Sensed presence; Visual.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Age Factors
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Hallucinations / epidemiology*
Hearing
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Norway / epidemiology
Prevalence
Smell
Touch
Vision, Ocular
Young Adult