title: The Vermont longitudinal study of persons with severe mental illness, II: Long-term outcome of subjects who retrospectively met DSM-III criteria for schizophrenia.
abstract: The authors present the findings from a long-term follow-up study of 118 patients from Vermont State Hospital who, when rediagnosed retrospectively, met DSM-III criteria for schizophrenia at their index hospitalization in the mid-1950s. The patients were studied with structured, reliable, multivariate instrument batteries by raters who were blind to information in their records. The rediagnostic process is described, and results of the follow-up are presented. Outcome varied widely, but one-half to two-thirds of the sample had achieved considerable improvement or recovered, in contrast to statements in DSM-III that predict a poor outcome for schizophrenic patients.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003688:Deinstitutionalization; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008370:Manuals as Topic; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000534:rehabilitation; D008875:Middle Aged; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D011336:Probability; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012917:Social Adjustment; D014707:Vermont