Citation

Birchwood M, Iqbal Z, Chadwick P, Trower P. Br. J. Psychiatry 2000; 177: 516-521.

Affiliation

Northern Birmingham Mental Health NHS Trust and University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, Royal College of Psychiatry)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

11102326

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Depression in schizophrenia is a rather neglected field of study, perhaps because of its confused nosological status. Three course patterns of depression in schizophrenia, including post-psychotic depression (PPD), are proposed. AIMS: We chart the ontogeny of depression and psychotic symptoms from the acute psychotic episode over a 12-month period and test the validity of the proposed course patterns. METHOD: One hundred and five patients with ICD-10 schizophrenia were followed up on five occasions over 12 months following the acute episode, taking measures of depression, positive symptoms, negative symptoms, neuroleptic exposure and side-effects. RESULTS: Depression accompanied acute psychosis in 70% of cases and remitted in line with the psychosis; 36% developed PPD without a concomitant increase in psychotic symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The results provided support for the validity of two of the three course patterns of depression in schizophrenia, including PPD. Post-psychotic depression occurs de novo without concomitant change in positive or negative symptoms.

Language: en