Adult quality of life and associated factors in adolescent onset schizophrenia and affective psychotic disorders

Background Subjects in treatment for affective disorders are usually less satisfied with life compared to subjects with schizophrenia. Aims The aims of this study were to compare subjective quality of life (QoL) at adult age of adolescent onset psychotic disorders and analyse associated factors. Method Fifty-three patients with adolescent onset psychotic disorders were followed up at age 25, diagnostically re-evaluated according to the DSM-IV and assessed with the Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale, the Strauss-Carpenter Scale and the Lancashire Quality of Life Profile. Results Subjects diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (n = 27) experienced significantly lower overall QoL than subjects with psychotic mood disorders (n = 26). Overall QoL was strongly associated to depressed mood (R-2 = 0.49) in the schizophrenia group and to degree of employment (R-2 = 0.39) in the mood disordered group. Conclusion Depression is a major concern in the evaluation and treatment of patients with schizophrenia, while vocational support seems particularly important after an episode of psychotic mood disorder

A systematic review of the long-term outcome of early onset schizophrenia

BACKGROUND: The current review analyzes the long-term outcome and prognosis of early onset schizophrenia based on previously published studies in 1980. METHODS: A systematic search of articles published in the English-language literature after 1980 identified a total of 21 studies, which included 716 patients who were either suffering from early onset schizophrenia (EOS) or both EOS and other psychotic disorders (MIX). The authors of the current review scored the outcome as either "good," "moderate," or "poor." The mean age of onset in these studies was 10 years, small to moderate for more unfavourable outcomes in males, and small to large for worse outcomes in studies including patients diagnosed before 1970. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to the adult manifestation, the early manifestation of schizophrenia in childhood and adolescence still carries a particularly poor prognosis. According to these aggregated data analyses, longer follow-up periods, male sex, and patients having been diagnosed before 1970 contribute predominantly to the rather poor course of EOS