Poorer outcomes for first episode schizophrenia patients with Axis I psychiatric conditions

Axis I psychiatric comorbidity is associated with poorer outcomes in patients with first episode schizophrenia, a recent study has shown.It is thought that multiple clinical factors can affect the outcome of patients with first episode schizophrenia, such as age of onset, education, premorbid adjustment, duration of untreated psychosis, psychopathology and the level of insight. However, data on the longitudinal impact of Axis I psychiatric comorbidity on the clinical and functional outcomes of patients with first episode schizophrenia are sparse. Sim et al. sought to examine the longitudinal impact of Axis I psychiatric conditions on first episode schizophrenia patients. They hypothesised patients with first episode schizophrenia and Axis I psychiatric comorbidity were associated with poorer longitudinal outcomes, especially in terms of more severe psychopathology, poorer insight and quality of life (QOL) compared to those without Axis I psychiatric comorbidity....