title: Insight in Chinese schizophrenia patients: a 12-month follow-up.
abstract: This study aimed to assess insight in Chinese schizophrenia patients and to identify its relationship with socio-demographic and clinical factors, executive functions and quality of life (QOL). A cohort of 139 clinically stable schizophrenia patients was selected by consecutively screening patients diagnosed with schizophrenia who were attending the outpatient department of a university-affiliated psychiatric hospital in China. Participants' socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, including psychotic symptoms, depression and insight, as well as QOL and executive functions, were periodically assessed with standardized rating instruments. Patients received standard psychiatric care and were followed up for 1 year. Impaired insight was found to be common in stable Chinese schizophrenia patients (76.3%), with merely 5% showing improvement over the 1-year follow-up. Insight was inversely correlated with positive and negative symptoms at all but the 12-month assessment and with both the physical and mental components of QOL at baseline and the 12-month assessment. Insight was not associated with depressive symptoms or executive functions. Standard psychiatric care does not improve the level of insight in clinically stable Chinese schizophrenia outpatients, which warrants the introduction of specific therapeutic interventions that enhance insight.
authors: Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Wang
authors: Y-T
authors: YT
authors: Xiang
authors: C-Y
authors: CY
authors: Wang
authors: H F K
authors: HF
authors: Chiu
authors: J-P
authors: JP
authors: Zhao
authors: Q
authors: Q
authors: Chen
authors: S S M
authors: SS
authors: Chan
authors: E H M
authors: EH
authors: Lee
authors: W-K
authors: WK
authors: Tang
authors: G S
authors: GS
authors: Ungvari
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D002681:China; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors