title: Prevalence and longitudinal stability of negative symptoms in healthy participants.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although negative symptoms are prominent in older patients with schizophrenia, it is unknown whether this pattern is prevalent in healthy participants. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether negative symptoms are present in healthy populations and to determine whether they are linked to illness-related processes or normal aging.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systemic review of 26 studies that have administered negative symptom assessments to healthy participants was conducted. In addition, 213 (age > 40 years old) healthy participants completed PANSS and SANS ratings at both baseline and 1-year follow-up. One-hundred participants also completed ratings after 3 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Across all reviewed studies, negative symptoms were absent in the majority of participants. Comparable results were found in the current study's large longitudinal evaluation with middle-aged to older adults.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Taken together, the data suggest that healthy volunteers do not suffer from prominent negative symptoms. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that the greater prevalence and severity of negative symptoms in older patients is not related to normal aging but to illness-related processes.
authors.affiliation: VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Lindsay C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Emmerson
authors.forename: Dror
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ben-Zeev
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Granholm
authors.forename: Megan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tiffany
authors.forename: Shah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Golshan
authors.forename: Dilip V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Jeste
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology