Psychosis Incident Cohort Outcome Study (PICOS). A multisite study of clinical, social and biological characteristics, patterns of care and predictors of outcome in first-episode psychosis. Background, methodology and overview of the patient sample.
OBJECTIVE
This paper aims at providing an overview of the background, design and initial findings of Psychosis Incident Cohort Outcome Study (PICOS).


METHODS
PICOS is a large multi-site population-based study on first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients attending public mental health services in the Veneto region (Italy) over a 3-year period. PICOS has a naturalistic longitudinal design and it includes three different modules addressing, respectively, clinical and social variables, genetics and brain imaging. Its primary aims are to characterize FEP patients in terms of clinical, psychological and social presentation, and to investigate the relative weight of clinical, environmental and biological factors (i.e. genetics and brain structure/functioning) in predicting the outcome of FEP.


RESULTS
An in-depth description of the research methodology is given first. Details on recruitment phase and baseline and follow-up evaluations are then provided. Initial findings relating to patients' baseline assessments are also presented. Future planned analyses are outlined.


CONCLUSIONS
Both strengths and limitations of PICOS are discussed in the light of issues not addressed in the current literature on FEP. This study aims at making a substantial contribution to research on FEP patients. It is hoped that the research strategies adopted in PICOS will enhance the convergence of methodologies in ongoing and future studies on FEP.
Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Section of Psychiatry, University of Verona, Verona, Italy. antonio.lasalvia@univr.it
A
A
Lasalvia
S
S
Tosato
P
P
Brambilla
M
M
Bertani
C
C
Bonetto
D
D
Cristofalo
S
S
Bissoli
K
K
De Santi
L
L
Lazzarotto
G
G
Zanatta
G
G
Marrella
R
R
Mazzoncini
M
M
Zanoni
N
N
Garzotto
C
C
Dolce
S
S
Nicolau
L
L
Ramon
C
C
Perlini
G
G
Rambaldelli
M
M
Bellani
M
M
Tansella
M
M
Ruggeri
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012919:Social Behavior; D055815:Young Adult