title: A comparison of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder: Results from the Second Australian national psychosis survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It remains uncertain whether schizoaffective disorder (SAD) is a discrete diagnostic entity, is a variant of either a psychotic mood disorder such as bipolar disorder (BDP) or schizophrenia (SCZ), or exists on a spectral continuum between these disorders. The present study examined whether SCZ, SAD, and BDP differed qualitatively on demographic and clinical variables based on a large Australian dataset.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study examined data from the Australian Survey of High Impact Psychosis (SHIP), in which 1469 of the 1825 participants in who had an ICD-10 diagnosis of SCZ (n=857), SAD (n=293), and BDP (n=319) were assessed across a broad range of variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  When compared to patients with SCZ, those with SAD reported more current delusional and thought disorder symptoms, a greater number of lifetime depression, mania, and positive symptoms, and fewer negative symptoms. Relative to the BPD group, the SAD group were younger, endorsed more current positive, delusional, and thought disorder symptoms, fewer lifetime mania symptoms, more lifetime psychotic, hallucination, and delusional symptoms, and recorded lower premorbid IQ scores. Compared to patients with BPD, those with SCZ were significantly younger, endorsed more current psychotic and hallucination symptoms, fewer lifetime depression and mania symptoms, more lifetime psychotic, hallucination, and delusional symptoms, reported more negative symptoms and had lower premorbid IQ and psychosocial functioning scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Validated psychometric measures of psychotic or mood symptoms were not used.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This pattern of results is consistent with the conceptualisation of a spectrum of disorders, ranging from BDP at one end, to SAD in the middle, and SCZ at the other end.
authors.affiliation: St Vincent׳s Mental Health, Fitzroy, VIC, Australia; Department of Psychiatry, the University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia. Electronic address: sam.mancuso@svha.org.au.
authors.forename: Serafino G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Mancuso
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychiatric Epidemiology Research Unit, School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: Vera A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.affiliation: School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Black Dog Institute, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Philip B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.affiliation: St Vincent׳s Mental Health, Fitzroy, VIC, Australia; IMPACT Strategic Research Centre, Deakin University, School of Medicine, Barwon Health, Geelong, VIC, Australia; Orygen Youth Health Research Centre, Parkville, VIC, Australia; Florey Institute for Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berk
authors.affiliation: Centre for Affective Disorders, Institute of Psychiatry, King׳s College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Allan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Young
authors.affiliation: St Vincent׳s Mental Health, Fitzroy, VIC, Australia; Department of Psychiatry, the University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Castle
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D003702:Delusions / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D038801:International Classification of Diseases; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Bipolar disorder; Comparison; Phenomenology; Schizoaffective disorder; Schizophrenia