Do antipsychotics limit disability in schizophrenia? A naturalistic comparative study in the community.
BACKGROUND
Though antipsychotics are effective against symptoms of schizophrenia and prevent relapses, their effect on disability has not been studied in a comparative design.


OBJECTIVE
To compare disability of schizophrenia patients receiving continuous antipsychotic treatment with that of those not receiving or receiving irregular treatment in a rural community setting using a naturalistic comparative study design.


METHODS
Disability was assessed in 182 schizophrenia patients living in Thirthahalli Taluk of Shimoga District, Karnataka, using Indian Disability Evaluation and Assessment Scale (IDEAS). Fifty patients (27.5%) were receiving regular treatment in the previous 2 years and their disability was assessed for the period when they were on antipsychotics. The remaining 132 patients (72.5%) had off-antipsychotics periods in the previous 2 years and their disability was assessed for the period when they were off-antipsychotics.


RESULTS
Patients on antipsychotics had significantly less disability across all domains of disability and in total IDEAS scores. Multivariate regression analysis showed that treatment status predicted disability scores after controlling for the effects of the confounding factors. Different levels of exposure to antipsychotic treatment were associated with different levels of disability.


CONCLUSIONS
Treatment with antipsychotics is associated with significantly less disability. There is an urgent need to bring schizophrenia patients under the umbrella of treatment.
Thirthalli
Jagadisha
J
Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health And Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, India.
Venkatesh
Basappa K
BK
Naveen
Magadi N
MN
Venkatasubramanian
Ganesan
G
Arunachala
Udupi
U
Kishore Kumar
Kengeri V
KV
Gangadhar
Bangalore N
BN