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Sex differences in social functioning of patients with schizophrenia depending on the age of onset and severity of the disease
Author(s) -
Zorkina Yana,
Morozova Anna,
Abramova Olga,
Reznik Alexander,
Kostyuk Georgiy
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
early intervention in psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.087
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1751-7893
pISSN - 1751-7885
DOI - 10.1111/eip.13063
Subject(s) - schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , positive and negative syndrome scale , psychology , disease , psychiatry , age of onset , population , social functioning , negative symptom , clinical psychology , rating scale , psychosis , medicine , developmental psychology , environmental health
Aim Schizophrenia manifests differently in women and men. This disease starts at a young age, leads to disability at working age. The aim of our work was to study sex differences, association between social factors and different parameters of the clinical picture and the course of the disease. Methods This study was performed using population of Russian patients (men: 345, women: 310). Patients were examined using DSM‐V, Bush‐Francis catatonia rating scale (BFCRS), Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), 4‐Items Negative Symptoms Assessment (NSA‐4) and Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB). Results Sex differences were mainly shown through negative symptoms, which were more severe in male patients. Men were shown to experience a decrease in social functioning and earlier age of onset. A positive family history further influenced negative symptoms and age of onset. When comparing scores before and after inpatient treatment (4 weeks), sex differences were not so pronounced. Female patients and patients with high levels of education, no conflictual relationship with family and active labour activity showed a later age of onset of the prodromal events and manifestation age. The decrease in the number of social contacts correlated with lower age of disability. The association between social factors and the severity of psychotic symptoms was shown across DSM‐V, PANSS, NSA‐4 and FAB, but not for BFCRS. Social factors were associated with negative symptoms of schizophrenia, but not with positive. Conclusion For successful treatment of patients with schizophrenia, the discussed factors must be considered and schizophrenia treatment methods should be primarily aimed at improving social functioning.