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Cognitive function in early psychosis patients from a lower middle-income country
Muhammed Omair Husain1, Imran B Chaudhry1, Rachel Thomasson2
1a Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences , University of Manchester , Manchester , UK.
Objectives:
To establish evidence of cognitive changes in early psychosis (EP) patients compared to healthy controls (HC) in Pakistan.
Methods:
Fifty-one participants with EP were recruited from psychiatric units in Karachi and Rawalpindi, Pakistan and matched with 51 HC. Neurocognitive domains were assessed using standardised neuropsychological tests [the Stroop test, block design, Matrix Reasoning, picture completion, object assembly, oral fluency, memory for design, Coughlan learning task (verbal and visual)].
Results:
EP patients had higher scores than controls for both Stroop tests (T1: EP = 122 HC = 65, p <.001; T2: EP = 190 HC = 153, p = .007) and memory for design test (EP = 10 HC = 3, p = .005). EP group had lower values for block design (EP = 4, HC = 11, p = .01), category fluency (EP = 18.9, HC = 26.1, p < .001), Coughlan verbal tasks (EP = 36.4 NC = 51.5, p < .001), matrix reasoning (EP = 4 NC = 10, p < .001), picture completion (EP = 4 NC = 6, p = .003) and object assembly (EP = 10.7, HC = 15.5, p = .002). There were limited significant associations between cognitive performance and PANSS scores.
Conclusions:
Reduced cognitive performance was found across multiple domains in Pakistani EP patients, which suggests that impaired cognitive performance is homogenous in patients with schizophrenia, regardless of ethnicity.
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