Depressive Symptoms during an Acute Schizophrenic Episode: Frequency and Clinical Correlates
Table 1
Comparisons between patients with and without clinically significant depressive symptoms.
Variable
Patients with significant depressive symptoms ()
Patients without significant depressive symptom ()
Age at presentation, years
32.9 (8.41)
32.63 (8.28)
Gender
Male
5 (45%)
25 (41%)
Female
6 (55%)
36 (59%)
Marital status
Single
4 (36%)
29 (48%)
Married
6 (55%)
30 (49%)
Divorced or separated
1 (9%)
2 (3%)
Years of formal education
10.45 (3.86)
9.67 (3.44)
Place of residence
Urban
7 (64%)
31 (51%)
Rural
4 (36%)
30 (49%)
Age at onset, years
27.45 (4.5)
27.03 (8.18)
Duration of illness, years
2 (0.5–22)
4 (0.5–30)†
Number of hospitalizations
1.55 (1.51)
1.16 (0.69)
Total duration of hospitalization, days
36.6 (33.67)
25.61 (19.8)
First-episode schizophrenia
9 (82%)
44 (72%)
Subtype of schizophrenia
Paranoid
9 (82%)
27 (44%)
Catatonic
—
6 (10%)
Hebephrenic
—
2 (3%)
Undifferentiated
2 (18%)
26 (43%)
Presence of specific psychotic symptoms
Delusions, any
11 (100%)
44 (72%)
Hallucinations, any
8 (73%)
48 (79%)
Catatonic symptoms
—
17 (28%)
Disorganized speech or thought
1 (9%)
5 (8%)
Disorganized behaviour
2 (18%)
23 (38%)
PANSS scores
Positive subscale
23.27 (3.16)
19.38 (4.66)
Negative subscale
15.81 (6.71)
19.87 (7.84)
General psychopathology subscale
47.18 (9.25)
39.9 (7.82)
Psychopathology index
7.45 (6.76)
−0.49 (10.0)
Total
86.27 (14.01)
79.14 (14.73)
Suicide attempt, lifetime
9 (82%)
11 (18%)
Violent suicide attempt, lifetime
7 (64%)
7 (12%)
Number of suicide attempts
1.91 (1.64)
0.33 (0.87)
GAF score
23.55 (6.25)
29.28 (6.36)
Body mass index, kg/m2
23.97 (4.35)
22.92 (4.24)
Comorbid diagnoses
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
2 (18%)
—
Nicotine dependence
3 (27%)
11 (18%)
Alcohol dependence
—
2 (3%)
All values given as mean (standard deviation) or frequency (percentage). PANSS: Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale for Schizophrenia; GAF: Global Assessment of Functioning Scale. Significant at . Significant at . Calculated for a total of 64 patients who had been hospitalized, 54 without and 10 with significant depression. †Given as median (range).
