title: Symptomatic Remission Determines Functional Improvement and Quality of Life in Schizophrenia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Schizophrenia is a chronic illness that negatively affects the quality of life and psychosocial functions. Defined criteria to assess remission in schizophrenia are considered to be useful in the long-term follow-up of patients and in discriminating diagnostic factors. This study investigated the quality of life and functionality in schizophrenia patients in symptomatic remission (R-Sch) and not in remission (Non-R-Sch).
  
  
  METHODS
  Sociodemographic data were collected for 40 R-Sch and 40 Non-R-Sch patients, and the following scales were administered: the Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) Scale; Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire-Short Form, Turkish Version (WHOQOL-BREF-TR), Quality of Life Scale for Schizophrenia Patients (QLS), and Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The total and all subscale scores of PANSS and the CGI-S score were significantly lower in the R-Sch group than in the Non-R-Sch group, whereas the GAF scores and all subscales of QLS and WHOQOL-BREF-TR were significantly higher.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrates that improvement in symptoms in schizophrenia patients improves quality and functionality in all areas of life, suggesting that an improvement in symptoms is the most important determinant of functional recovery in the treatment of schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Mustafa Kemal University School of Medicine, Hatay, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet Hanifi
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Kokaçya
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Gaziantep University School of Medicine, Gaziantep, Turkey.
authors.forename: Osman
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Virit
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Gaziantep University School of Medicine, Gaziantep, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ümit Sertan
authors.initials: ÜS
authors.lastname: Çöpoğlu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Gaziantep University School of Medicine, Gaziantep, Turkey.
authors.forename: Haluk
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Savaş
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Mustafa Kemal University School of Medicine, Hatay, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ari
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University School of Medicine, Rize, Turkey.
authors.forename: Bülent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bahçeci
keywords: Schizophrenia; quality of life; symptomatic remission