No sex differences in neuropsychological performance in first episode psychosis patients

The purpose of this study was to verify whether male patients with psychosis have greater neurocognitive impairment than female patients at illness onset.

Participants with a first episode of psychosis (74 women/86 men) and healthy controls (62 women/97 men) were assessed with an extensive neuropsychological test battery.

Women in the clinical group were older at illness onset and had achieved higher formal education than men. This trend was the same for the control group. The patient group presented with lower premorbid IQ compared to healthy controls, and performed below for most neuropsychological tests. Women scored higher than men on a test of verbal memory, whereas men scored higher than women on a test of reaction time, visual memory, and a planning task. There were no group-by-sex interactions for any of the neuropsychological tests.

The present study shows that at the onset of psychosis there are no differences between males and females in neuropsychological performance. The differential pattern of cognitive performance observed is similar to that in healthy males and females. Furthermore, females with a late onset of psychosis may represent a subgroup with specific visuospatial and problem solving impairments.