Schizophrenia in adolescence

Abstract

Schizophrenia with childhood and adolescent onset is a serious clinical/social problem. It has been attempted to specify main clinical/dynamic sex-related characteristics of early onset schizophrenia, prognostic criteria and parameters of outcome. The results of a long-term (1995-2014) clinical follow-up study of outpatients of a psychoneurological dispensary and inpatients of a Moscow Psychiatric Hospital №15, aged 15-17 years, were analyzed. There was the predominance of men over women (4:1). The evidence of poor outcome of childhood and adolescent onset schizophrenia was obtained. At the age of 18 years, no one patient had stable remission, more than 40% of the patients were disabled since childhood. Most of adolescents were disabled in one or another activity. At the same time, there was a relative stabilization of the early malignant variants of schizophrenia resulted in oligophrenia-like deficit. The delayed (for several years) and frequently mistaken diagnosis and the absence of adequate treatment are the most robust premises of the development of early disability, along with the severity of destructive potential of the disease. The more distinct qualification of early symptoms of schizophrenia with childhood and adolescent onset, search for social/therapeutic approaches directed to the prevention of exacerbations and prophylaxis of social incompetence of adolescents are needed.