Temporal course of symptoms and social functioning in relapsing schizophrenics: a 6-year follow-up

As a part of the Copenhagen High Risk project, a 6 year follow-up of relapses after first hospitalisation of 67 schizophrenic women was performed. Four dimensions of psychopathology were examined: positive symptoms, negative symptoms, formal thought disorder and depressive symptoms. Each symptom group was its own best predictor over time. Only depressive symptoms diminished significantly at a relapse 6 years after first hospitalisation. Broadly defined subtyping of schizophrenia into paranoid and non-paranoid, retained stability over a 6 year period. It is concluded that there is a stability of psychopathology across onset episodes and relapses.