Course of illness in a sample of 265 patients with first-episode psychosis--five-year follow-up of the Danish OPUS trial

Mette Bertelsen, Pia Jeppesen, Lone Petersen, Anne Thorup, Johan Øhlenschlaeger, Phuong Le Quach, Torben Østergaard Christensen, Gertrud Krarup, Per Jørgensen, Merete Nordentoft

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Abstract

There is an ongoing debate as to whether psychosis is a progressively deteriorating illness or one of progressive amelioration. This paper aims at investigating the rate of recovery and institutionalization and predicting a continuous illness course in a descriptive prospective study of a sub-sample of the OPUS trial of 265 first-episode psychotic patients after five years. Recovery, defined as no psychotic or negative symptoms, living independently, GAF (f)>59, working or studying, was reached for 18% after five years, whereas 13% were institutionalized either at hospital or supported housing after five years. Male gender (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.06 to 3.23), premorbid social functioning (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.33), psychotic symptoms (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.66), and negative symptoms (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.67) were found to predict a continuous illness course at five-year follow-up. Rates of recovery and institutionalization contradict the assumption that the illness deteriorates progressively, since no changes in the rates are seen from two to five years.
Original languageEnglish
JournalSchizophrenia Research
Volume107
Issue number2-3
Pages (from-to)173-8
Number of pages5
ISSN0920-9964
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2009

Bibliographical note

Keywords: Adult; Case Management; Combined Modality Therapy; Community Mental Health Services; Comorbidity; Denmark; Family Therapy; Female; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Patient Readmission; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychotic Disorders; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenic Psychology; Socialization; Substance-Related Disorders; Young Adult

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