Numerous investigators have reported that hospitalized mentally ill patients were more likely to excrete 6-hydroxyskatole sulfate (6 HSK-OS) in the urine than "normal" individuals of the same age group.1-4 Others have reported large amounts in the urine of patients with the malabsorption syndrome.5
The meaning of these findings is not clear. Environmental factors have been suspected since it occurs more frequently and in greater amounts in various types of patients housed in mental hospitals. This paper reports: (1) A statistically significant degree of agreement for the presence or absence of 6 HSK-OS in the urine extracts of members of the same "normal" households. (2) The detection of 6 HSK-OS in the urine extracts of only 3 of 9 acute schizophrenics not previously treated in a mental hospital. (3) The detection of 6 HSK-OS in the urine extracts of only one of seven