Comorbid substance-use in schizophrenia: relation to positive and negative symptoms.
As substance use disorders (SUD) are common in schizophrenia patients, we tested the hypothesis that comorbid patients (SUD[+]) have more positive vs. negative symptoms than non-comorbid (SUD[-]) patients. From reports identified by literature-searching we compared Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) ratings in schizophrenia patients with and without SUD using meta-analytic methods. Among 9 comparisons (N=725 subjects), SUD[+] patients were more often men, and abused alcohol>cannabis>cocaine. SUD[+] patients had very significantly higher PANSS-positive, and lower PANSS-negative scores. Comorbid SUD in schizophrenia patients was associated with male sex and higher PANSS positive to lower negative scores. Cause-effect relationships remain to be clarified.
Talamo
A
A
Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Centorrino
F
F
Tondo
L
L
Dimitri
A
A
Hennen
J
J
Baldessarini
R J
RJ
D000328:Adult; D015897:Comorbidity; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*