Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 27, 2025

Development of a Virtual Reality Assessment of Everyday Living Skills
Published on: April 23, 2014
Functionality During the First Five Years After the Diagnosis of Schizophrenia. A Cohort Study in a Colombian
Juan F Cano1, Julián Ortegón-Valencia2, Carlos Pedraza-Perez2
1UR Center for Mental Health (CeRSaMe), School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia; Centro de Investigaciones del Sistema Nervioso (CISNE), Bogotá, Colombia.
Objective:
There is a lack of studies on the natural history of the initial stages of schizophrenia in Colombia. This study aims to assess functionality in the first five years after the diagnosis of schizophrenia.
Methods:
Naturalistic longitudinal study of 50 patients with early schizophrenia evaluated between 2011 and 2014. Data about demographic background, symptoms, introspection, treatment and adverse reactions were collected in all patients every 3 months for at least 3-5 years. Functionality was measured with the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) and Personal and Social Performance (PSP) scales.
Results:
Patients were followed up for a mean of 174±62.5 weeks and showed moderate difficulties in overall functioning. This functioning was modified by polypharmacy, degree of introspection, changes in antipsychotic regimens, and the number of episodes, relapses and hospitalisations.
Conclusions:
The results suggest that functional outcomes seem to be related to the use of polypharmacy, degree of insight, changes in antipsychotic regimens, and number of episodes, relapses and hospitalisations during the first years of schizophrenia.
Related Concept Videos
Schizophrenia
Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia
Psychosis: Goals of Pharmacotherapy
Negative and Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Negative Symptoms
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia manifest as deficits in normal emotional and behavioral functioning, profoundly impacting daily life. Individuals with schizophrenia often display a flat affect, characterized by a near-total absence of emotional expression,...
Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia: Hallucinations and Delusions
Thought Disorders
Disorganized and unusual thought processes mark thought disorders in schizophrenia. One key feature is disorganized speech, where an individual's conversation includes...
Positive Symptoms Schizophrenia: Hallucinations and Delusions
Hallucinations
Hallucinations in...

