Recovery in schizophrenia: related factors in a group of patients followed up for 5 years in a private practice

Figures & data

Table 1. Recovery criterion used in this study.

Domains	Definition
Symptomatic remission	The core symptoms of schizophrenia being mild and less at a level not to impair functioning.
Independent living	Being able to manage their own work and self-care without needing someone else’s surveillance or assistance.
Work/education	Attending a full- or part-time work or education.
Social relationships	Meeting and having good time with friends or participating in some kind of social programme at least once a month or being married.

Source: Adapted from [8,11].

Table 2. Socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients at baseline and 5-year later (n = 70; schizophrenia = 48, schizoaffective disorder = 22).

	Baseline	5 year later	p Value
Education years (mean, SD, range)	11.5 ± 2.8 (5–17)	12.1 ± 2.8 (5–17)	<.001
Married	12	16	<.001
Num. of hosp. (mean, SD, range)	0.9 ± 1.2 (0–5)	0.3 ± 0.7 (0–4)	<.001
Body Mass Index (mean, SD, range)	26.2 ± 5.8 (17–42)	28.7 ± 5.4 (18–45)	<.001
Daily smoking (mean, SD, range)	16.1 ± 18.4 (0–60)	15.9 ± 18.4 (0–60)	.610
CGI-S (mean, SD, range)	5.4 ± 0.8 (4–7)	3.4 ± 1.5 (1–7)	<.001
GAF (mean, SD, range)	46.2 ± 8.0 (30–65)	68.4 ± 14.8 (30–85)	<.001
Num. of meeting (mean, SD, range)		16 ± 7.5 (6–48)
Remission (number, %)		44 (62.9)
Recovery (number, %)		25 (35.7)
Independent living (number, %)		43 (61.4)
Work/study (number, %)		37 (55.7)
Friendship (number, %)		31 (44.3)
Recovery > 2-year (number, %)		17 (24.3)
Intramuscular application
None		33 (47.1)
Less than half of the time		22 (31.4)
More than half of the time		15 (21.4)

Note: CGI-S, Clinical Global Impression – Severity and GAF, Global Assessment of Functioning.

Table 3. Comparison of the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients, who fulfilled the criteria for recovery and non-recovery.

Baseline characteristics	Recovered (n = 25)	Non-recovered (n = 42)	Statistics	p Value
Gender (M)	13	31	Χ^2(1) = 1.963	.161
Age at baseline	31 ± 11.1	30 ± 9.1	t(68) = .555	.581
Education years	11 ± 3.5	12 ± 2.3	t(36) = −.723	.474
Married	7	5	Χ^2(1) = 3.227	.072
Age of onset	25 ± 7.3	21 ± 4.4	t(34) = 2.891	.016
Job at onset	12	12	Χ^2 (1) = 3.246	.072
Duration of ill. (years)	6 ± 6.7	8 ± 6.9	t(68) = −1.444	.153
Number of hospitaliz.	0.6 ± 1.1	1 ± 1.3	t(68) = −1.793	.077
Family history of sch^a	8	17	Χ^2(1) = .234	.629
OCD Comorbidity	1	10	Fisher’s Exact Test	.083
Alcohol use	4	5	Fisher’s Exact Test	.712
Cannabis use	4	2	Fisher’s Exact Test	.177
Suicide attempt	4	8	Fisher’s Exact Test	1.000
Diagnosis (SCH)	12	36	Χ^2(1) = 7.636	.006
First episode	12	10	Χ^2(1) = 4.955	.026
GAF at baseline	47 ± 7.8	46 ± 8.2	t(68) = .609	.544
CGI-S at baseline	5 ± 0.7	5 ± 0.9	t(68) = −.693	.491

Note: OCD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder; GAF, Global Assessment of Functioning; and CGI-S, Clinical Global Impression – Severity.

^aSchizophrenia in first and second degree of relatives.

p<0.05 are considered significant

Table 4. Predictors of recovery, logistic regression analyses.

Variables	B	SE	Wald	df	Sig.	Exp(B)	95% CI for Exp(B)
OCD at baseline^a	1.565	1.250	1.567	1	.211	4.782	0.413–55.419
Married	1.231	0.969	1.614	1	.204	3.424	0.513–22.869
Schizoaffective Disorder	1.923	0.760	6.409	1	.011	6.844	1.544–30.340
Onset of illness	0.129	0.064	4.072	1	.044	1.137	1.004–1.289
Duration of illness	−0.024	0.073	0.104	1	.747	0.977	0.846–1.127
Job at onset	1.018	0.778	1.716	1	.190	2.769	0.603–12.709
First episode	1.299	1.041	1.559	1	.212	3.666	0.477–28.180
Number of hospitaliz.	−0.063	0.305	0.042	1	.837	0.939	0.517–1.708
Constant	−6.482	2.182	8.822	1	.003	0.002

^aReference category.

Liberman RP, Kopelowicz A, Ventura J, et al. Operational criteria and factors related to recovery from schizophrenia. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2002;14:256–272. doi: 10.1080/0954026021000016905

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Andreasen NC, Carpenter Jr WT, Kane JM, et al. Remission in schizophrenia: proposed criteria and rationale for consensus. Am J Psychiatry. 2005;162:441–449. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.162.3.441

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