Is 'schizophrenia, schizo-affective type' a useful diagnosis? Ten years experience from Danish psychiatric hospitals

During the period 1 April 1970 to 31 March 1980, 1,039 admissions (592 males and 447 females) with the main diagnosis schizophrenia, schizo-affective type, were registered in Danish psychiatric hospitals. Based on the Danish Central Psychiatric Register, 114 patients first admitted to psychiatric hospitals in the period 1970 to 1978 with the main diagnosis schizophrenia, schizo-affective type in at least one admission are described. The results show a continued increase in the use of the diagnosis, but the variation in the use both in different psychiatric hospitals and in patients' admission histories is striking. The question, whether the diagnosis is useful in this way, is discussed, and a proposal for a different international classification of schizo-affective psychoses is given.