The authors intend to characterize the population of foreign patients admitted to Department L of Centro Hospitalar Psiquiátrico de Lisboa, Portuguese biggest Psychiatric hospital, and compare it with published data on the subject.

The authors identified all foreigner patients hospitalized in the Inpatient Clinic from 01/01/2010 to 30/06/2011. Clinical information was obtained from the case notes and statistically treated. Relevant literature collected from PubMed was reviewed.

A great heterogeneity of nationalities was found including 21 countries, the majority of which are a part of CPLP (Community of Portuguese Language Countries). Nearly all of the patients (91%) were in Portugal as immigrants, most being single and unemployed. Housing conditions are unstable. Psychiatric diagnoses show that schizophrenia is the pathology with more expression (27%), followed by major depression (16%) and bipolar disorder (15%). A significant number of patients have disorders due to psychoactive substance use (19%). After discharged from the hospital 77% where referred to outpatient services, but only half of those are still being followed-up.

Social and familial stability is an important factor influencing mental health. Most patients covered by this study experience familiar, professional and housing instability, making them a risk group. Schizophrenia and affective disorders are the most prevalent pathologies, which agrees with the prevailing idea that social distress is a risk factor to them.

Further studies should be held in order to characterise foreigner populations admitted to psychiatric clinics so that better therapeutic and follow-up measures can be carried out.