title: Frequent Comorbidity and Predictors of Social Anxiety in Persons With Schizophrenia: A Retrospective Cohort Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine if symptoms of social anxiety are distinct from negative symptoms of schizophrenia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-three patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (diagnosed per DSM-IV criteria) and 37 healthy controls were examined with the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) for social anxiety disorder and for the severity of social anxiety. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Chapman scales for physical and social anhedonia were also administered. Data were collected from 2005 to 2010 from inpatient and outpatient research centers at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Social anxiety disorder was elevated more than 10-fold in schizophrenia patients than in controls (37.7% of patients vs 2.9% of controls, P ≤ .001). Social anxiety and social fear were unrelated to the PANSS with few exceptions. A family history of psychosis was also a significant independent predictor of social anxiety as measured by LSAS total (P = .004) and the social fear subscale (P = .007).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data confirm social anxiety disorder as a prominent comorbid disorder in patients with schizophrenia. Future studies should focus on treatment trials of this phenomenon. Social anxiety cannot be explained by the negative symptomatology of the disease. This study suggests that a family history of psychosis is a significant predictor of social anxiety.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Alyson
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gorun
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cieslak
authors.affiliation: Lieber Center for Research in Schizophrenia, Columbia University, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Jill
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Harkavy-Friedman
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Institute for Social and Psychiatric Initiatives (InSPIRES), New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Deptula
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Institute for Social and Psychiatric Initiatives (InSPIRES), New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Goetz
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Institute for Social and Psychiatric Initiatives (InSPIRES), New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York; New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York.
authors.forename: Raymond
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Goetz
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York; Department of Psychiatry, Institute for Social and Psychiatric Initiatives (InSPIRES), New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Dolores
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Malaspina
references.citation: Schizophr Bull. 2011 Jul;37(4):811-21
references.pmid: 19959704
references.citation: Schizophr Res. 2003 May 1;61(1):89-95
references.pmid: 12648739
references.citation: J Clin Psychiatry. 1999 Dec;60(12):819-23
references.pmid: 10665627
references.citation: Depress Anxiety. 2009;26(1):34-8
references.pmid: 18781659
references.citation: Am J Psychiatry. 2004 Jan;161(1):53-8
references.pmid: 14702250
references.citation: Schizophr Res. 1994 Feb;11(3):277-84
references.pmid: 8193064
references.citation: Schizophr Bull. 2014 Mar;40 Suppl 2:S107-16
references.pmid: 24375459
references.citation: Am J Psychiatry. 2002 Jun;159(6):983-90
references.pmid: 12042187
references.citation: Compr Psychiatry. 2012 Oct;53(7):946-51
references.pmid: 22554765
references.citation: Schizophr Bull. 1998;24(3):413-24
references.pmid: 9718633
references.citation: Schizophr Res. 2014 Apr;154(1-3):48-53
references.pmid: 24581549
references.citation: Nature. 2010 Nov 11;468(7321):187-93
references.pmid: 21068826
references.citation: Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 1998 Feb;32(1):67-72
references.pmid: 9565185
references.citation: J Psychiatr Res. 2005 Jul;39(4):409-14
references.pmid: 15804391
references.citation: Am J Psychiatry. 1999 Mar;156(3):474-6
references.pmid: 10080568
references.citation: Clin Schizophr Relat Psychoses. 2010 Apr;4(1):41-8
references.pmid: 20643628
references.citation: Psychopathology. 1997;30(5):263-74
references.pmid: 9353855
references.citation: Compr Psychiatry. 2004 Nov-Dec;45(6):460-8
references.pmid: 15526257
references.citation: Am J Psychiatry. 2000 Jun;157(6):994-1003
references.pmid: 10831482
references.citation: Am J Psychiatry. 1994 Jun;151(6):805-14
references.pmid: 8184990
references.citation: Schizophr Res. 2006 Sep;86(1-3):147-53
references.pmid: 16822653
references.citation: Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2007 Oct;116(4):290-8
references.pmid: 17803759
references.citation: J Abnorm Psychol. 1976 Aug;85(4):374-82
references.pmid: 956504
references.citation: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1994 Nov;51(11):849-59; discussion 863-4
references.pmid: 7944874
references.citation: Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2008 Feb;258(1):48-58
references.pmid: 17990052
references.citation: CNS Spectr. 2000 Sep;5(9):29-43
references.pmid: 17637578
references.citation: Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2009 May;55(3):198-202
references.pmid: 19383663
references.citation: Schizophr Bull. 1987;13(2):261-76
references.pmid: 3616518
references.citation: Psychol Med. 1999 Jan;29(1):199-212
references.pmid: 10077308
references.citation: Am J Psychiatry. 1987 Jul;144(7):889-95
references.pmid: 3605400