TY - JOUR PY - 2015// TI - Suicidality in clozapine-treated patients with schizophrenia: role of obsessive-compulsive symptoms JO - Psychiatry research A1 - Szmulewicz, Alejandro G. A1 - Smith, José M. A1 - Valerio, Marina P. SP - 50 EP - 55 VL - 230 IS - 1 N2 - Patients with schizophrenia have an increased lifetime risk of comorbid obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Up to 30% of these patients experience such symptoms and 12% may be diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder. The presence of these symptoms in schizophrenia seems to be associated with poor outcomes including a greater suicidal risk. A subgroup of patients develops this symptomatology after the initiation with Second Generation Antipsychotics (SGA). Also, there is evidence of a causal relationship for this association, particularly for clozapine. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the association of this comorbidity with suicidality in a population of clozapine-medicated schizophrenic and schizoaffective patients (N=65). The prevalence of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in our sample was 29.2% (N=19) and the prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder was 13.8% (N=9). Significant positive correlations between suicidality and total Y-BOCS score and between Y- BOCS score and depressive symptoms were found. Further analysis indicated that a Y-BOCS score greater or equal than 8 was an independent predictor of suicide attempt during clozapine treatment. Routine screening for this adverse event should be warranted for this population.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 0165-1781 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2015.07.089 ID - ref1 ER -