title: Age or age at onset? Which of them really matters for neuro and social cognition in schizophrenia?
abstract: In schizophrenia patients, both an older age and earlier age at onset of the disease are related to worse cognitive functioning. As patients with later schizophrenia onset are also older, analysing the two effects separately can be misleading, as they can either be spurious or cancel one another out. The purpose of the present study was to elucidate the effects of age and onset-age on cognition in schizophrenia patients. Individuals with schizophrenia (N=151), aged 18-59 years, were examined with a MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) to get a full picture of their cognitive performance. Results showed age and age at onset indeed interrelated. Regression analyses revealed later onset of schizophrenia related to better social cognition. Patients׳ older age was related to a slower performance in symbol coding task, less effective executive functions, worse visual learning, lower attention, and lower total score in the MCCB. In the above regression analyses we controlled doses of antipsychotic medications. The results suggest that a previously found relationship between older age and social cognition might be spurious, and strengthen observations that it is specifically later onset-age which fosters better social cognition in schizophrenia patients.
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Sobieskiego 9, 02-957 Warsaw, Poland. Electronic address: mlinke@ipin.edu.pl.
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Linke
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Stawki 5/7, 00-183 Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Konrad S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Jankowski
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Sobieskiego 9, 02-957 Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ciołkiewicz
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Sobieskiego 9, 02-957 Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jędrasik-Styła
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Sobieskiego 9, 02-957 Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Dorota
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Parnowska
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Sobieskiego 9, 02-957 Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gruszka
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Sobieskiego 9, 02-957 Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Mirella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Denisiuk
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Sobieskiego 9, 02-957 Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jarema
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Sobieskiego 9, 02-957 Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wichniak
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D017668:Age of Onset; D001288:Attention; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D056348:Emotional Intelligence; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Ageing; Antipsychotic medications; Cognition; Onset-age; Schizophrenia; Social cognition