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Gender differences in poor outcome patients with lifelong schizophrenia
P J Moriarty1, D Lieber, A Bennett
1Mt Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA.
Schizophrenia Bulletin
|February 24, 2001
Summary
Male schizophrenia patients exhibit more severe negative symptoms and earlier psychiatric admission, irrespective of functional outcome. Cognitive differences linked to gender may only appear in patients with better functional status.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Neuroscience
- Schizophrenia Research
Background:
- Schizophrenia presents consistent gender differences, including earlier onset and poorer outcomes in males.
- It remains unclear if symptom differences reflect functional outcome disparities or independent gender effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate gender-specific symptom severity and cognitive functioning in geriatric schizophrenia patients with uniformly poor outcomes.
- To clarify if gender differences in symptoms are independent of functional status.
Main Methods:
- Examined 205 geriatric schizophrenia patients (43% male) with lifelong poor outcomes.
- Assessed symptom severity, cognitive impairments, adaptive skills, and demographic factors.
Main Results:
- Replicated previous findings: males had more severe negative symptoms and earlier age of first psychiatric admission.
- No gender differences were observed in cognitive functioning or specific functional deficits.
Conclusions:
- Male gender is associated with greater negative symptom severity in schizophrenia, independent of functional outcome.
- Gender-related cognitive deficits may be more apparent in schizophrenia patients with better functional outcomes.