Abstract
The increased use of the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) to investigate cognitive dysfunctions in schizophrenia fostered interest in its sensitivity in the context of family studies. As various measures of the same cognitive domains may have different power to distinguish between unaffected relatives of patients and controls, the relative sensitivity of MCCB tests for relative-control differences has to be established. We compared MCCB scores of 852 outpatients with schizophrenia (SCZ) with those of 342 unaffected relatives (REL) and a normative Italian sample of 774 healthy subjects (HCS). We examined familial aggregation of cognitive impairment by investigating within-family prediction of MCCB scores based on probands' scores. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to analyze group differences in adjusted MCCB scores. Weighted least-squares analysis was used to investigate whether probands' MCCB scores predicted REL neurocognitive performance. SCZ were significantly impaired on all MCCB domains. REL had intermediate scores between SCZ and HCS, showing a similar pattern of impairment, except for social cognition. Proband's scores significantly predicted REL MCCB scores on all domains except for visual learning. In a large sample of stable patients with schizophrenia, living in the community, and in their unaffected relatives, MCCB demonstrated sensitivity to cognitive deficits in both groups. Our findings of significant within-family prediction of MCCB scores might reflect disease-related genetic or environmental factors.
Highlights
Cognitive deficits represent core features of schizophrenia, observable in all stages of the disorder and before its onset, irrespective of the severity of symptoms (Heinrichs & Zakzanis, 1998; Green et al 2000, 2004; Galderisi et al 2002, 2009, 2013; Keefe et al 2011; Kern et al 2011; Bora et al 2014; Dickerson et al 2014)
Age had a linear detrimental effect on cognitive performance for all domains, with older age groups performing worse than younger ones, except for the Social cognition domain, for which the two oldest groups did not differ
Education showed a positive effect on the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) scores of healthy adults, with better performance associated with higher education
Summary
Cognitive deficits represent core features of schizophrenia, observable in all stages of the disorder and before its onset, irrespective of the severity of symptoms (Heinrichs & Zakzanis, 1998; Green et al 2000, 2004; Galderisi et al 2002, 2009, 2013; Keefe et al 2011; Kern et al 2011; Bora et al 2014; Dickerson et al 2014). In a large sample of stable patients with schizophrenia, living in the community, and in their unaffected relatives, MCCB demonstrated sensitivity to cognitive deficits in both groups. Our findings of significant within-family prediction of MCCB scores might reflect disease-related genetic or environmental factors
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