Schizophrenia with onset at the extremes of adult life


D.J. Castle
Bok Engelsk 1997
Utgitt
1997
Omfang
5 s.
Opplysninger
Objective. To define the epidemiology, phenomenology, premorbid and risk factors in patients with the first manifestation of a schizophrenia-like illness after the age of 60 years, and compare them with patients with an onset before the age of 25 years.Design/setting/subjects. All contacts for a non-affective psychotic illness across all ages of onset were ascertained through a psychiatric case register; patients were rediagnosed according too perationalized criteria for psychotic illness, and those with a very early and very late onset compared.Main outcomes measures. Phenomenological, premorbid and a etiological parameters were compared in the two groups, using risk ratios and 95%confidence intervals.Results. Very late onset patients (N = 72) were, compared to their very early onset counterparts (N = 192), more likely to be female,have good premorbid functioning and developmental history, and to exhibit persecutory delusions and hallucinations; they were less likely to have negative schizophrenic symptoms, to have a positive family history of schizophrenia, or have suffered pregnancy or birthcomplications.Conclusions. The results highlight premorbid, aetiological and phenomenological differences between patients with the onset of a schizophrenia-like illness at the extremes of adult life, and suggest it is premature to consider the two groups to be merely different manifestations of the same illness.
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