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Negative symptoms in depressed and schizophrenic patients: how do they differ?
Ronald Bottlender1, Tetsuya Sato, Constanze Groll
1Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany. bottlend@psy.med.uni-muenchen.de
The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
|August 21, 2003
Summary
Enduring negative symptoms are more prevalent in schizophrenia than depression. Distinguishing these enduring symptoms improves diagnostic accuracy for schizophrenia, suggesting they are not merely a byproduct of depressive illness.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Clinical Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Negative symptoms are a core feature in schizophrenia, but can also appear in depression.
- Differentiating negative symptoms between schizophrenia and major depressive disorder is clinically important.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia and major depressive disorder.
- To determine if symptom duration (enduring vs. nonenduring) enhances the specificity of negative symptoms for schizophrenia.
Main Methods:
- Schizophrenia (N=33) and major depressive disorder (N=43) patients were assessed using the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS).
- The duration of negative symptoms was evaluated via semistructured interviews to categorize them as enduring or nonenduring.
- Depressive symptoms were measured using the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale.
Main Results:
- Both groups exhibited high negative symptom ratings (SANS).
- Enduring negative symptoms were significantly more common in schizophrenic patients (p <.01).
- Identifying enduring negative symptoms significantly improved diagnostic discrimination for schizophrenia (p =.02).
Conclusions:
- Negative symptoms in depression appear to be secondary to depressive symptoms.
- Enduring negative symptoms are a key feature distinguishing schizophrenia from major depressive disorder.
- This distinction aids in more accurate differential diagnosis.