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
Psychiatry Research February 1, 2019 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2019.01.003 (opens in new tab) via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractHallucination prevalence decreases with age across all sensory modalities—auditory, visual, olfactory, and tactile—as well as for sensed presence and hypnagogic/hypnopompic types. In a large representative Norwegian sample, young adults (19–30 years) reported the highest rates, middle-aged (31–60) intermediate, and older adults (61–96) the lowest. Anxiety partially mediated this age effect, while depression acted as a partial suppressor. Co-occurrence of auditory and visual hallucinations was minimal across all age groups. The general population reports a wider variety of hallucination modalities than is typically seen in clinical populations.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Randomly selected representative sample of the Norwegian general population |
| Keywords | Hypnagogic Hypnopompic Olfactory Sensed presence Visual |
| Key finding | Hallucination prevalence significantly decreases with age across all modalities and types. |
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.