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Comparative Study of Clinical Features between Early- and Late-Onset Schizophrenia in South Korea

조기 발병 조현병과 후기 발병 조현병의 임상 양상에 대한 비교 연구

  • Ko, Mi-Ae (Department of Psychiatry, Myongji Hospital, Hanyang University Medical Center) ;
  • Lee, Seon-Koo (Department of Psychiatry, Bundang Jesaeng Hospital) ;
  • Lee, Jung Suk (Department of Psychiatry, National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital)
  • 고미애 (한양대학교 의료원 명지병원 정신건강의학과) ;
  • 이선구 (분당 제생병원 정신건강의학과) ;
  • 이정석 (국민건강보험공단 일산병원 정신건강의학과)
  • Received : 2019.01.15
  • Accepted : 2019.09.10
  • Published : 2019.10.30

Abstract

Objectives: Late-onset schizophrenia (LOS, age at first onset ≥40 years) is characterized by including predominance of women, better premorbid social adjustment and lower severity of positive/negative symptoms. However, few studies have been conducted on LOS, especially in Asian countries. This study aimed to examine the clinical features of LOS in comparison with early-onset schizophrenia (EOS). Methods: By retrospectively reviewing medical records, we assessed demographic data and clinical features of 76 LOS (20 males) and 357 EOS (144 males) who admitted to the psychiatric ward of a general hospital. Results: The mean ages of onset were 47.3±5.1 (LOS) and 25.7±6.5 (EOS) years. There were significantly more women in LOS (73.7%) than EOS (59.6%). Significantly more LOS patients had a marital (88.2% vs. 25.8%) and employment history (28.9% vs. 13.1%) than EOS. Patients with LOS had fewer negative (14.3±9.0 vs. 19.9±9.3), general psychopathology score (36.9±11.1 vs. 42.3±13.9) than EOS patients. Conclusion: In line with previous studies, this study demonstrated that LOS patients have better premorbid social adjustment. Our finding also replicates previous findings that LOS patients differ from EOS in predominance of women and relative lack of negative symptoms. These results suggest that LOS may be a distinct subtype of schizophrenia.

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Acknowledgement

본 연구는 국민건강보험 일산병원의 연구비 지원으로 이루어졌음(NHIMC2017CR022).