TY - JOUR
T1 - A naturalistic cohort study of first-episode schizophrenia spectrum disorder
T2 - A description of the early phase of illness in the PSYSCAN cohort
AU - Slot, Margot I.E.
AU - van Hell, Hendrika H.
AU - Rossum, Inge Winter van
AU - Dazzan, Paola
AU - Maat, Arija
AU - de Haan, Lieuwe
AU - Crespo-Facorro, Benedicto
AU - Glenthøj, Birte
AU - Lawrie, Stephen M.
AU - McDonald, Colm
AU - Gruber, Oliver
AU - van Amelsvoort, Thérèse
AU - Arango, Celso
AU - Kircher, Tilo
AU - Nelson, Barnaby
AU - Galderisi, Silvana
AU - Weiser, Mark
AU - Sachs, Gabriele
AU - Maatz, Anke
AU - Bressan, Rodrigo A.
AU - Kwon, Jun Soo
AU - Mizrahi, Romina
AU - McGuire, Philip
AU - Kahn, René S.
AU - PSYSCAN Consortium
AU - Marcelis, Machteld
AU - Vingerhoets, Claudia
N1 - Funding Information:
PSYSCAN was supported as part of the European Funding 7th Framework Programme (grant number 603196).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Authors
PY - 2024/4/1
Y1 - 2024/4/1
N2 - Background: We examined the course of illness over a 12-month period in a large, international multi-center cohort of people with a first-episode schizophrenia spectrum disorder (FES) in a naturalistic, prospective study (PSYSCAN). Method: Patients with a first episode of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder (depressive type) or schizophreniform disorder were recruited at 16 institutions in Europe, Israel and Australia. Participants (N = 304) received clinical treatment as usual throughout the study. Results: The mean age of the cohort was 24.3 years (SD = 5.6), and 67 % were male. At baseline, participants presented with a range of intensities of psychotic symptoms, 80 % were taking antipsychotic medication, 68 % were receiving psychological treatment, with 46.5 % in symptomatic remission. The mean duration of untreated psychosis was 6.2 months (SD = 17.0). After one year, 67 % were in symptomatic remission and 61 % were in functional remission, but 31 % had been readmitted to hospital at some time after baseline. In the cohort as a whole, depressive symptoms remained stable over the follow-up period. In patients with a current depressive episode at baseline, depressive symptoms slightly improved. Alcohol, tobacco and cannabis were the most commonly used substances, with daily users of cannabis ranging between 9 and 11 % throughout the follow-up period. Conclusions: This study provides valuable insight into the early course of a broad range of clinical and functional aspects of illness in FES patients in routine clinical practice.
AB - Background: We examined the course of illness over a 12-month period in a large, international multi-center cohort of people with a first-episode schizophrenia spectrum disorder (FES) in a naturalistic, prospective study (PSYSCAN). Method: Patients with a first episode of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder (depressive type) or schizophreniform disorder were recruited at 16 institutions in Europe, Israel and Australia. Participants (N = 304) received clinical treatment as usual throughout the study. Results: The mean age of the cohort was 24.3 years (SD = 5.6), and 67 % were male. At baseline, participants presented with a range of intensities of psychotic symptoms, 80 % were taking antipsychotic medication, 68 % were receiving psychological treatment, with 46.5 % in symptomatic remission. The mean duration of untreated psychosis was 6.2 months (SD = 17.0). After one year, 67 % were in symptomatic remission and 61 % were in functional remission, but 31 % had been readmitted to hospital at some time after baseline. In the cohort as a whole, depressive symptoms remained stable over the follow-up period. In patients with a current depressive episode at baseline, depressive symptoms slightly improved. Alcohol, tobacco and cannabis were the most commonly used substances, with daily users of cannabis ranging between 9 and 11 % throughout the follow-up period. Conclusions: This study provides valuable insight into the early course of a broad range of clinical and functional aspects of illness in FES patients in routine clinical practice.
KW - First episode psychosis
KW - Functioning
KW - Longitudinal study
KW - PSYSCAN
KW - Remission
KW - Schizophrenia
U2 - 10.1016/j.schres.2024.02.018
DO - 10.1016/j.schres.2024.02.018
M3 - Article
SN - 0920-9964
VL - 266
SP - 237
EP - 248
JO - Schizophrenia Research
JF - Schizophrenia Research
ER -