title: Illness course and quality of life in Mexican patients with psychosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze the differences in the quality of life of patients with psychosis according to the course of the illness.
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinical records and SCID-I interviews were used to establish the course of the illness and to categorize it according to 3 criteria: a) relapses, b) residual symptoms, and c) clinical diagnosis. Subjective quality of life was assessed with the Seville Questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty one patients (56% women) participated, reporting a mostly adequate quality of life. An illness course characterized by the presence of residual symptoms, rather than by the occurrence of any relapse or the progression of a first-episode psychosis into schizophrenia, showed a negative effect on the perceived quality of life of patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The clinical services provided to patients with psychosis should focus not only on symptoms remission and relapse prevention, but also achieving a recovery with a satisfactory quality of life. Having identified residual symptoms as a crucial factor negatively affecting quality of life, clinicians must carefully assess them and treat them, in order to achieve the best possible recovery.
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Investigación, Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad de la Península de Yucatán, Mérida, Yucatán, México. Electronic address: gomezderegil@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Lizzette
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gómez-de-Regil
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D008875:Middle Aged; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000628:therapy; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Calidad de vida; Curso de la enfermedad; Esquizofrenia; Illness course; Mexican; Mexicanos; Psicosis; Psychosis; Quality of life; Schizophrenia