Schizofrenia e comorbilità con disturbi di asse I: Correlazioni con caratteristiche cliniche e funzionamento socio-lavorativo

Aim. The aims of the present study were: 1) to determine the prevalence of Associated Psychiatric Syndromes (APS) in a sample of patients with stabilized schizophrenia; 2) to analyze their influence on demographic, clinical and psychopathological features and on the quality of life index within the group of patients. Methods. We studied a sample of 88 chronic schizophrenic patients admitted to the Dipartimento di Neuroscienze - Sezione di Psichiatria - University degli Studi di Torino - Dipartimento di Salute Mentale TO 1 SUD from 2002, January, to 2002, December. All patients were anamnestically evaluated to detect psychiatric comorbidity (according to the structured clinical interview for DSM-IV, SCID) and demographic features. Clinical characteristics of the sample were evaluated with Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale (CARS); their degree of quality of life was assessed with Quality of Life Scale (QLS). Results. In the sample, lifetime comorbidity for APS is present in 41% of patients. The prevalence of APS was 20% for Substance Use Disorders, 13% for Mood Disorders and 7% for Anxiety Disorders. Familial occurrence of psychiatric disorders was significantly higher in schizophrenic probands with comorbid Anxiety Disorders. Number of hospitalizations and CPRS scores were significantly higher in schizophrenic patients with Mood Disorders. We didn't find significant differences in PANSS and QLS between groups. Conclusions. Our results suggest that APS can be associated with adverse outcome such as frequent hospitalization and a worse general psychopathology as assessed by CPRS. However, APS do not seem to increase psychotic simptomatology and worsen the quality of life of patients with schizophrenia.