What demographic, geographic and temporal factors characterize the rate of first hospitalizations for affective psychosis in Costa Rica? This report presents graphically the first hospitalization rates for the whole country of Costa Rica, with analysis of specific rates for the subgroups by age, sex, marital status, level of education, occupation, place of residence, and place of birth, as well as separate rates by month and date of hospital admission, monopolar first admissions increased slowly from the age of 10 to the age of 45 years, then "exploded" to a peak between 55 and 65 years, then declined somewhat. The educational group among men with the highest rate was the group with at least some university education. Professionals, clerical workers, unskilled laborers, and those with no occupation had high rates. Higher rates were also associated with being single, divorced, widowed, having no occupation, and living in rural, coffee-growing areas that were not too distant from the hospital.

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