Trajectories of positive, negative and general psychopathology symptoms in first episode psychosis and their relationship with functioning over a 2-year follow-up period

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 12; no. 11; p. e0187141
• Main Authors: Abdin, Edimansyah, Chong, Siow Ann, Vaingankar, Janhavi Ajit, Peh, Chao Xu, Poon, Lye Yin, Rao, Sujatha, Verma, Swapna, Subramaniam, Mythily
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 02.11.2017; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adult; Analysis; Antipsychotics; Delayed response; Drug abuse; Emotional behavior; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Gender differences; Health aspects; Humans; Illnesses; Male; Mathematical models; Medicine and Health Sciences; Mental disorders; Mental health; Patients; People and Places; Psychiatric patients; Psychiatry; Psychopathology; Psychosis; Psychotic disorders; Psychotic Disorders - psychology; Psychotropic drugs; Schizophrenia; Signs and symptoms; Singapore; Studies; Substance use disorder; Trajectory analysis; Young Adult; Singapore
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0187141

Few studies have examined the trajectories of symptom severity in first episode psychosis (FEP) and their impact on functioning. This study aimed to identify discrete trajectories of positive, negative and general psychopathological symptoms and functioning, determine predictors of the identified symptom trajectories and subsequently investigate the relationship between symptom and functioning trajectories over the 2-year follow-up period. Data were extracted from the Singapore Early Psychosis Intervention Programme clinical database. Trajectories of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale over the two-year follow up were modelled using latent class growth curve modelling. Two distinct trajectories (early response and stable trajectory and delayed response trajectory) for positive symptoms, four distinct trajectories (early response and stable trajectory, early response and relapse trajectory, slower response and no response trajectory and delayed response trajectory) for negative and general psychopathology symptoms and three distinct trajectories for functioning (high functioning trajectory, moderately stable functioning trajectory and deterioration in functioning trajectory) were identified in our sample. Compared to individuals in the early response and stable trajectory, those in the delayed response trajectory for positive and negative symptoms, early response and relapse for negative and general psychopathology symptoms and slower response and no response trajectories for general psychopathology symptoms were significantly associated with higher odds of having deterioration in functioning over time. Poor symptom trajectories were also significantly predicted by younger age, male gender, unemployed and economically inactive status, lower education, longer duration of untreated psychosis and diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum and delusional disorders. The results confirm that the symptoms trajectories among patients with FEP are heterogeneous and suggest that a small group of patients may be at higher risk of deterioration in symptom severity and functioning over the 2-year follow-up.