title: Severity of psychotic episodes in predicting concurrent depressive and anxiety features in acute phase schizophrenia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Considering that depressive and anxiety symptoms are common in schizophrenia, this study investigated whether the severity of a psychotic episode in an acute phase schizophrenia cohort is predictive of concurrent depressive and anxiety features.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty one recently hospitalised patients suffering from acute phase schizophrenia participated prospectively in a cross-sectional study. The severity of the psychotic episode, the depressive features and the anxiety features were measured by the Structured Clinical Interview for Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (SCI-PANSS), the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS), the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) and the Staden Schizophrenia Anxiety Rating Scale (S-SARS). The total SCI-PANSS-scores were adjusted to exclude appropriately the depression or anxiety items contained therein. To examine akathisia as potential confounder, the Barnes Akathisia Scale was also applied. The relationships were examined using linear regressions and paired t-tests were performed between lower and higher scores on the SCI-PANSS.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A higher adjusted total SCI-PANSS-score predicted statistically significantly higher scores for depressive features on the CDSS (p < 0.0001) and for anxiety features on the HAM-A (p = 0.05) and the S-SARS (p < 0.0001). The group that scored more or equal to the median (=99) of the adjusted total SCI-PANSS, scored significantly higher (p < 0.0001) on the CDSS, the HAM-A and the S-SARS than the group scoring below it. Akathisia measured distinctly different (p < 0.0001) from both the anxiety measures.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study suggests that the severity of a psychotic episode in acute phase schizophrenia predicts the severity of concurrent depressive and anxiety features respectively.
authors.forename: Kalai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Naidu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X323, Arcadia, Pretoria 0007, South Africa. werdie.vanstaden@up.ac.za.
authors.forename: Werdie C W
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: van Staden
authors.forename: Mike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van der Linde
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011595:Psychomotor Agitation / Q000150:complications; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult