TY  - JOUR
PY  - 1998//
TI  - The 15-year outcome of Chinese patients with schizophrenia in Hong Kong
JO  - Canadian journal of psychiatry, The
A1  - Lee, P. W.
A1  - Lieh-Mak, F.
A1  - Wong, M. C.
A1  - Fung, A. S.
A1  - Mak, K. Y.
A1  - Lam, J.
SP  - 706
EP  - 713
VL  - 43
IS  - 7
N2  - OBJECTIVE: To explore the differential outcome of schizophrenia in developed and developing countries. The 15-year outcome of patients with schizophrenia in Hong Kong is reported.  METHOD: In a 15-year retrospective outcome study, 100 patients with first-onset schizophrenia in 1977-1978 were randomly selected for outcome assessment from a pool of 797 patient files. The patterns of outcome were assessed by the same set of instruments and methodology as in other centres, since Hong Kong is 1 of the World Health Organization (WHO) centres for the International Study of Schizophrenia (ISoS).  RESULTS: Nineteen subjects were untraceable, and 10 subjects committed suicide. More than one-half of the subjects had a good symptomatic outcome, while about 20% of the subjects were rated as having a good psychosocial adjustment. Over the entire 15-year period, 96% of the subjects were maintained on medications, and 79% were living with family members.  CONCLUSION: Despite Hong Kong's developed economy, its schizophrenia outcome is similar to that in developing countries. The existence of good family support and active follow-up treatment may be important contributory factors to better outcome.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0706-7437
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/070674379804300705
ID  - ref1
ER  -