Am J Psychiatry 1990; 147:179-182
Copyright © 1990 by American Psychiatric Association
The temporal relationship between depressive and psychotic symptoms in recent-onset schizophrenia
MF Green, KH Nuechterlein, J Ventura and J Mintz
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles.
The authors examined the temporal relationship between onset of depressive
and psychotic symptoms in 27 patients with recent-onset schizophrenia or
schizo-affective disorder. Ratings on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale
were collected every 2 weeks for at least 1 year to specify onset of
relapse or exacerbation. Six time periods were defined in relation to onset
of psychotic symptoms, and the number of depressive periods was determined
for each time period. Onset of depressive periods was concurrent with onset
of psychosis more often than expected but was not associated with any other
time period. The authors found no distinctive postpsychotic pattern of
onset for depression.
