Citation

van Os J, Drukker M, à Campo J, Meijer J, Bak M, Delespaul P. Am. J. Psychiatry 2006; 163(11): 2000-2002.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, American Psychiatric Association)

DOI

10.1176/ajp.2006.163.11.2000

PMID

17074953

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Remission criteria for schizophrenia have been proposed, consisting of a time criterion and a symptomatic remission criterion. With longitudinal data of a representative patient group (N=317; median follow-up: 1,132 days), validity of the symptomatic remission criterion was investigated.
METHOD: In a group of 145 patients meeting the symptomatic remission criterion at baseline and a group of 172 patients not meeting it at baseline, change over time in remission status was examined in relation to change in various functional outcomes.
RESULTS: In both groups, change over time with the symptomatic remission criterion was associated with substantial changes in unmet needs, Global Assessment of Functioning scale scores, satisfaction with services and, to a lesser extent, quality of life. Changing the symptomatic remission criterion to include depression and suicidality did not affect the results.
CONCLUSIONS: The proposed symptomatic remission criterion has clinical validity and represents the right balance between parsimony and inclusiveness.

Language: en

Keywords

Depressive Disorder; Follow-Up Studies; Health Status; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Patient Satisfaction; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Quality of Life; Reproducibility of Results; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenic Psychology; Sensitivity and Specificity; Suicide; Time Factors