title: Cognitive impairments in first-episode drug-naive and chronic medicated schizophrenia: MATRICS consensus cognitive battery in a Chinese Han population.
abstract: Cognitive deficits are a core feature of schizophrenia and we examined the cognitive profile of first-episode and chronic schizophrenia in a Chinese Han population using the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB). We recruited 79 first-episode drug-naïve (FEDN) schizophrenia, 132 chronic medicated schizophrenia inpatients and 124 healthy controls. We assessed patient psychopathology using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). MCCB total score (p<0.01) and index scores of category fluency, trail making A, digital sequence, Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (HVLT), mazes, and Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) were significantly higher in FEDN than in chronic patients (all p<0.05). FEDN exhibited relative weakness in continuous performance, whereas chronic patients exhibited relative weakness in mazes. Multiple regression analysis confirmed that in FEDN and chronic patients, total score and negative symptom of PANSS were independent contributors to MCCB total score, respectively. Our results not only demonstrate the applicability of the MCCB as a sensitive measure of cognitive impairment for schizophrenia patients in a Chinese Han population, but also suggest that the compromised cognition is present in the early stage of schizophrenia, some of which could be more severe in the chronic stage of illness.
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, Faculty of Health, The University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia; Schizophrenia Research Institute, Sydney, Australia; Psychiatry Research Center, Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jing Qin
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Research Center, Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Da Chun
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Research Center, Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yun Long
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Research Center, Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Mei Hong
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Xiu
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Research Center, Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Fu
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Jair C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Research Center, Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA. Electronic address: zhangxy9@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Xiang Yang
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002681:China; D003071:Cognition; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011599:Psychopathology; D012044:Regression Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012559:Schizophrenia; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D014706:Verbal Learning; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cognition; First-episode drug-naïve patients; MCCB; Psychopathology; Schizophrenia