Deficit syndrome in Chinese patients with first-episode drug naïve schizophrenia: Prevalence, demographic and clinical characteristics.

Abstract

Deficit syndrome (DS) is a common subgroup of schizophrenia. However, few studies have examined the prevalence and risk factors for DS in Chinese Han patients with schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to assess prevalence, demographic and clinical characteristics of DS in Chinese Han patients with first-episode drug naïve (FEDN) schizophrenia. In total, 235 patients with schizophrenia were recruited, and clinical and demographic data were collected. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was utilized for the psychopathological symptoms, and the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS-17) for depressive symptoms. The Proxy for the Deficit Syndrome (PDS) was adopted to identify DS. The prevalence of DS in the cohort of first-episode schizophrenia patients was 23.0%. Compared to those patients without DS, patients with DS had younger age, lower education level, and were more likely to be single. Further, DS patients had significantly lower scores of positive symptoms, general psychopathology, and depression than non-DS patients. Patients with DS had fewer suicide attempts, but they had more severe negative symptoms and cognitive impairment (all p<0.05). Multiple regression showed that poor cognitive functioning, lower levels of depression and younger age at onset were predictors of DS. Chinese Han patients with FEDN schizophrenia have high prevalence of DS. Some demographic and clinical parameters may be associated with DS.