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Objective: The frequency of compulsory admission varies widely across Europe. Although there has been some research on a nation-wide level, no work has been done to compare mental health legislation in different countries in relation to detention rates and to patients' perception of hospital detention., Method: Databases and government statistics were searched for regional, national and European data. Legal frameworks were compared and reviewed in relation to patients' and professionals' views., Results: Nearly 20-fold variations in detention rates were found in different parts of Europe. Criteria for detention of the mentally ill are broadly similar when it comes to patients at risk to themselves or others. However different rules apply for involuntary treatment in the interest of the patient's health., Conclusion: Variations in detention rates across Europe appear to be influenced by professionals' ethics and attitudes, sociodemographic variables, the public's preoccupation about risk arising from mental illness and the respective legal framework.

Objective: To identify and characterize a subgroup of schizophrenia patients with marked and dominating bodily sensations (cenesthesias and body image aberration)., Method: We assessed cenesthesias and different aspects of body image aberration systematically along with common (general, positive and negative symptoms) and ego-psychopathology in 60 patients with acute paranoid schizophrenia. Cluster analysis was applied to identify subgroups. Psychopathology scores of the clusters were compared at admission and after 2 weeks of hospital treatment., Results: One of the three clusters comprised of 14 patients (23.3%) with marked disturbances of body experience (underestimation of lower extremities, desomatization, boundary loss and diminution). The subgroup was further characterized by significantly higher ego-psychopathology scores at admission. Some of the differences held true over a 2-week period., Conclusion: The findings from the present study suggest that cenesthesias and body image aberration might represent an additional dimension of psychopathology that might be used for defining a nosological subtype of schizophrenia.