Sustained favorable long-term outcome in the treatment of schizophrenia: a 3-year prospective observational study

BMC Psychiatry

Table 2 Baseline Characteristics for Variables Used to Define Health States by Cluster (n = 1942)

Cluster Variables	Best n = 503	Second Best n = 992	Middle n = 145	Second Worst n = 53	Worst n = 249	Total (n = 1942)
SYMPTOM SEVERITY^a
PANSS positive, mean (sd)	13.81 (3.92)	18.02 (5.38)	19.24 (6.70)	19.72 (6.32)	24.34 (5.27)	17.88 (6.05)
PANSS negative, mean (sd)	13.17 (4.06)	17.98 (5.33)	20.08 (6.48)	20.17 (5.99)	24.54 (5.77)	17.79 (6.25)
PANSS hostility, mean (sd)	7.77 (2.43)	10.57 (3.35)	11.53 (3.86)	12.08 (3.10)	14.32 (2.79)	10.44 (3.68)
PANSS disorganized thinking, mean (sd)	10.66 (2.67)	12.99 (3.64)	13.89 (4.65)	14.43 (3.80)	19.75 (3.97)	13.36 (4.46)
PANSS anxiety/depression	8.61 (2.88)	10.51 (3.06)	9.91 (3.16)	10.76 (3.36)	13.61 (3.10)	10.38 (3.37)
FUNCTIONING
Occupational role functioning (QLS 9), mean (sd)	3.59 (1.55)	1.66 (1.62)	1.65 (1.73)	1.34 (1.34)	0.46 (0.80)	1.99 (1.83)
Level of accomplishment (QLS 10), mean (sd)	4.39 (1.08)	2.07 (1.54)	2.10 (1.84)	1.58 (1.41)	0.68 (0.91)	2.48 (1.84)
Productivity, n (%)	503 (100%)	605 (61)	90 (62.1)	38 (71.7)	92 (36.9)	1328 (68.4)
ACUTE CARE
Emergency use^b, n (%)	0	0	145 (100)	18 (34)	0	163 (8.4)
Psychiatric hospitalizations, (past 4 weeks), n (%)	0	0	0	53 (100)	0	53 (2.7)

Abbreviations: n = number of patients; PANSS = positive and negative syndrome scale; QLS = Quality of Life Scale; sd = standard deviation.
^a PANSS factors per Marder et al. (1997) [29]
^b Emergency use was both patient reported for the past 4 weeks and from the past 6 months recorded in the medical record.
NOTE: There were 5 distinct outcome clusters identified and labeled from the "best" to "worst" cluster, with severity of symptoms and level of functioning influencing cluster order. The majority of patients (77%) belonged to either the "best" (n = 503) or the "second best" (n = 992) clusters at baseline.

ISSN: 1471-244X