title: Clinical characteristics of late-onset schizophrenia and delusional disorder.
abstract: We compared 20 patients with late-onset schizophrenia, 7 with delusional disorder with hallucinations (paraphrenia), and 13 with delusional disorder without hallucinations (late-onset paranoia). We found that these three categories could be distinguished from each other on some clinical parameters. Late-onset schizophrenia was characterized by bizarre delusions; auditory hallucinations; to a lesser degree, first-rank and negative symptoms; and premorbid personality of the paranoid or schizoid type. Paraphrenia was associated with predominantly nonbizarre delusions, auditory hallucinations, earlier onset of symptoms, and paranoid or schizoid personality. Paranoia (late-onset) was characterized by late onset of symptoms, nonbizarre delusions, relatively intact premorbid personality, and an underlying physical stratum.
authors.affiliation: Douglas Hospital Centre, Verdun, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yassa
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Suranyi-Cadotte
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003702:Delusions / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010259:Paranoid Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012563:Schizophrenia, Paranoid / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology