title: Long-term stability of diagnosis and symptom dimensions in a systematic sample of patients with onset of schizophrenia in childhood and early adolescence. I: nosology, sex and age of onset.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Little is known about the long-term outcome of schizophrenia that has its onset during childhood and early adolescence (early-onset schizophrenia, or EO-SZ). Whether or not EO-SZ is an aetiologically separate form of schizophrenia (SZ) is unresolved.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was a 14.8-year follow-up, using methods such as systematic sampling, evaluation of possible non-respondent bias, consensus best-estimate diagnoses (DSM-III-R) made independently in childhood and adulthood, measures of positive and negative dimensions, of non-psychotic behaviour disturbances (NPBD) and of developmental problems before the appearance of SZ.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was high stability of EO-SZ (n = 40) diagnoses (mean onset at 14.0 years) until adulthood (mean age at follow-up 28.8 years) but a lower stability of positive and negative schizophrenic dimensions. There was a poor outcome of EO-SZ, a strong over-representation of males but few gender differences, and no effect of age of onset on clinical features and outcome.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  EO-SZ taken as a whole shows no qualitative differences to adult-onset SZ. However, a distinction through the onset of preschizophrenic developmental problems or NPBD might be a way to investigate heterogeneity within EO-SZ.
authors.affiliation: Le Centre de recherche Université Laval Robert-Giffard, Beauport, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maziade
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gingras
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rodrigue
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bouchard
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cardinal
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gauthier
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tremblay
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Côté
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fournier
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boutin
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hamel
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mérette
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010553:Personality Development; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011792:Quebec; D012307:Risk Factors; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis; D012561:Schizophrenia, Childhood / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012569:Schizotypal Personality Disorder / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D012737:Sex Factors