title: A dimensional comparison between delusional disorder, schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Since the early description of paranoia, the nosology of delusional disorder has always been controversial. The old idea of unitary psychosis has now gained some renewed value from the dimensional continuum model of psychotic symptoms.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  1. To study the psychopathological dimensions of the psychosis spectrum; 2. to explore the association between psychotic dimensions and categorical diagnoses; 3. to compare the different psychotic disorders from a psychopathological and functional point of view.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is an observational study utilizing a sample of some 550 patients with a psychotic disorder. 373 participants had a diagnosis of schizophrenia, 137 had delusional disorder and 40 with a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder. The PANSS was used to elicit psychopathology and global functioning was ascertained using the GAF measure. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the PANSS items were performed to extract psychopathological dimensions. Associations between diagnostic categories and dimensions were subsequently studied using ANOVA tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  5 dimensions - manic, negative symptoms, depression, positive symptoms and cognitive - emerged. The model explained 57.27% of the total variance. The dimensional model was useful to explained differences and similarities between all three psychosis spectrum categories. The potential clinical usefulness of this dimensional model within and between clinical psychosis spectrum categories is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Unit, Granada University Hospital, Granada, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Department of Psychiatry, University of Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: José E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Muñoz-Negro
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Department of Psychiatry, University of Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Inmaculada
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ibanez-Casas
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Gregorio Marañón Hospital, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: de Portugal
authors.affiliation: Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ochoa
authors.affiliation: Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Montserrat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dolz
authors.affiliation: Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Josep M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Haro
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Unit, Virgen del Rocío University Hospital, Sevilla, Spain.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Veguilla
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de Dios Luna Del Castillo
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Unit, Granada University Hospital, Granada, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Department of Psychiatry, University of Granada, Spain. Electronic address: jcervilla@ugr.es.
authors.forename: Jorge A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Cervilla
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011599:Psychopathology; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012563:Schizophrenia, Paranoid / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: DSM-5; Delusional disorder; Dimensional; Factor analysis; Psychosis continuum; Psychosis spectrum; Schizoaffective; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia spectrum