title: Course and outcome of schizophrenia in asian countries: review of research in the past three decades.
abstract: Considerable variation has been observed in the course and outcome of schizophrenia. With regard to epidemiology of schizophrenia, papers from different Asian countries have reported findings which are in contrast with literature from the western countries. In this background we undertook a narrative review of literature regarding course and outcome of schizophrenia in Asian countries. We conducted Medline search for English-language papers on long-term course and outcome of schizophrenia conducted in Asia in the past 3 decades. We also reviewed data pertaining to Asian countries from the World Health Organization's International Study of Schizophrenia (ISoS). In addition to ISoS, we retrieved 14 reports from 9 Asian countries. While ISoS used comparable methodology across the countries, non-ISoS studies differed substantially in their aims, sampling, follow-up rates and assessment tools used for studying the course and outcome. Overall, the percentage of patients who experienced clinical and functional outcome in the Asian countries were largely comparable to those in the western studies. We observed significant variations in the long-term outcome and mortality in schizophrenia even among the Asian countries. In conclusion, there is substantial variation in the long-term course and outcome and mortality across different Asian countries. The reason for this remains unexplored. Cross-national studies exploring biological and cultural explanations for this variation may provide clues, which may have heuristic, translational and public-health significance.
authors: Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore.
authors: Bharath
authors: B
authors: Holla
authors: Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore. Electronic address: jagatth@yahoo.com.
authors: Jagadisha
authors: J
authors: Thirthalli
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001208:Asia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Asia; Course; Mortality; Outcome; Schizophrenia