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Prevalence of depressive symptoms early in the course of schizophrenia
T H Wassink1, M Flaum, P Nopoulos
1Mental Health Clinical Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City 52242, USA. thomas-wassink@uiowa.edu
Objective:
The rate of depressive symptoms early in the course of schizophrenia was determined.
Method:
Seventy subjects with recent-onset schizophrenia were followed for 5 years by using semistructured interview instruments. The initial assessment included ratings of each criterion A symptom of a DSM-III-R major depressive episode. The rates of symptoms experienced with at least moderate severity were calculated, and an algorithm based on DSM identified subjects meeting the criteria for a major depressive episode.
Results:
Four symptoms were present to at least a moderate degree in a majority of subjects, while no symptom was present in fewer than 12% of subjects. More than one-third of the subjects met the algorithmic criteria for a major depressive episode at the time of intake.
Conclusions:
Depressive symptoms are common early in the course of schizophrenia. This finding is consistent with other recent data and has potential implications for current diagnostic and treatment practices.