Temporal course of symptoms and social functioning in relapsing schizophrenics: a 6-year follow-up.
As a part of the Copenhagen High Risk project, a 6 year follow-up of relapses after first hospitalisation of 67 schizophrenic women was performed. Four dimensions of psychopathology were examined: positive symptoms, negative symptoms, formal thought disorder and depressive symptoms. Each symptom group was its own best predictor over time. Only depressive symptoms diminished significantly at a relapse 6 years after first hospitalisation. Broadly defined subtyping of schizophrenia into paranoid and non-paranoid, retained stability over a 6 year period. It is concluded that there is a stability of psychopathology across onset episodes and relapses.
Parnas
J
J
Psykologisk Institut, University Department of Psychiatry, Kommunehospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Jørgensen
A
A
Teasdale
T W
TW
Schulsinger
F
F
Mednick
S A
SA
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012008:Recurrence; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012931:Social Environment