title: The natural course of schizophrenia: a review of first-admission studies.
abstract: In this article, research on the natural course of illness among first-admission schizophrenic patients is reviewed from an epidemiological perspective. Three types of studies are considered: statistical reports dating primarily from the preneuroleptic era; long-term followback studies; and more recent prospectively designed cohort studies. Although relatively more first-admission patients have a positive course than do multiple admissions patients, the findings confirm the substantial heterogeneity in course and outcome. Methodological improvements in first-admission research are suggested, including separating the analyses of first-episode patients from those with past psychotic experiences; employing longitudinal methods for deriving diagnosis; including patients with drug and alcohol problems where appropriate; enlarging the samples either by multisite or multicenter collaborations or by pooling data across studies; and obtaining better data on treatment experiences in naturalistic research.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, State University of New York, Stony Brook 11794-8790.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ram
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Bromet
authors.forename: W W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Eaton
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pato
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Schwartz
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010351:Patient Discharge / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology