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Diagnostic Stability of Schizophrenia

Publish date:: June 4, 2019

In a recent review, schizophrenia was found to have high diagnostic stability over time. Prospective and retrospective consistency were examined and 39 studies were included, with samples sizes ranging from 60 to 10,058 (total n=39,965). The majority of studies were performed in North America and Europe, and had a prospective design with a median follow-up of 3 years. Researchers found:

Schizophrenia showed high rates of diagnostic stability over time.

Factors more commonly associated with diagnostic stability were male sex, older age, and poor functioning.
Late stages of illness, family history, and longer length of stay increased stability.

Citation:

Palomar-Ciria N, et al. Diagnostic stability of schizophrenia: A systematic review. [Published online ahead of print May 2, 2019]. Psychiatry Res. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2019.04.020.

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