Characteristics and duration of untreated illness in correlation with insight level of first time diagnosed schizophrenia patients in rural region of Latvia

Abstract

IntroductionImproved insight level among schizophrenia patients is predictive for better illness prognosis.ObjectiveExplore factors connected to insight.AimEvaluate the insight level and clinical characteristics of first time hospitalized schizophrenia spectrum patients.MethodsAll consecutive first time hospitalized schizophrenia spectrum patients in a psychiatric hospital from 01.01.2016–26.09.2016. Patients were interviewed upon hospitalization and at the discharge with Scale for the assessment of positive symptoms (SAPS) and negative symptoms (SANS), Schedule of assessment of insight-extended (SAI-E), The Calgary depression scale for schizophrenia (C-sch), sociodemographic and clinical data were collected. All participants signed written informed consent and the study was approved by the Riga Stradins University Ethics committee.ResultsFrom 45 first episode patients, 38 met the inclusion criteria. Mean age was 37.66 years (SD: 11.48 years), the average duration of untreated illness (DUI) was 40.5 months (SD: 57.35 months). Psychopathologic symptoms and insight levels evaluated in scores in the 1st and 2nd interviews were as follows: SAPS 69.11 (SD: 20.78) and 33.61 (SD: 18.04), SANS 63.21 (SD: 25.30) and 40.95 (SD: 24.47), SAI-E 15.50 and 27.24 (SD: 13.24), P < 0.001, C-sch 8.50 (SD: 5.31) and 4.27 (SD: 2.86), P < 0.05. There was no statistically significant correlation between DUI and insight level. A higher level of insight at hospitalization correlated with higher levels of depression: r = 0.569, P < 0.001.ConclusionsWe noticed a tendency that lower insight levels might correlate with longer periods of untreated illness. We found that higher insight levels correlated with higher symptoms of depression.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.