Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-cfpbc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T20:27:13.463Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Changes in the Positive and Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenic In-patients in China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Michael R. Phillips*
Affiliation:
Research Centre of Psychological Medicine, Shashi Psychiatric Hospital, Shashi, Hubei, People's Republic of China, 434000
Zuan Zhao
Affiliation:
Shashi Psychiatric Hospital, Shashi, Hubei, PRC
Xianzhang Xiong
Affiliation:
Huilong Guan Psychiatric Hospital, Beijing, PRC
Xiufang Cheng
Affiliation:
Jilin Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Siping, Jilin, PRC
Guirong Sun
Affiliation:
Nanjing Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, PRC
Ningsheng Wu
Affiliation:
Nanjing Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, PRC
*
Correspondence

Abstract

Positive and negative symptoms at admission and discharge of 401 unselected schizophrenic patients from four psychiatric hospitals around China were studied. On admission, 58% of patients had prominent negative symptoms and the overall severity of negative symptoms was similar to that of positive symptoms; at discharge, negative symptoms were more prevalent and more severe. The severity of negative symptoms was not significantly correlated with duration of illness or with dosage of medication; 48% of first-episode, drug-naive patients had prominent negative symptoms on admission. Negative symptoms responded to standard neuroleptic treatment, but the improvement was less marked than that in positive symptoms (47% v. 80%). The proportion of patients classified as positive type, negative type, and mixed type schizophrenia altered dramatically with treatment. These findings highlight the importance of negative symptoms in the assessment and treatment of both acute and chronic schizophrenia.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © 1991 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (1987) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd edn) (DSM–III–R). Washington, DC: APA.Google Scholar
Andreasen, N. C. (1984a) Scale for Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS). Iowa City: University of Iowa.Google Scholar
Andreasen, N. C. (1984b) Scale for Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS). Iowa City: University of Iowa.Google Scholar
Andreasen, N. C. (1987) The diagnosis of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 13, 922.Google Scholar
Andreasen, N. C. & Olsen, S. (1982) Negative vs. positive schizophrenia: Definition and validation. Archives of General Psychiatry, 39, 789794.Google Scholar
Bleuler, E. (1911) Dementia Praecox or the Group of Schizophrenias (trans. (1950) Zinkin, J.). New York: International Universities Press Inc.Google Scholar
Breier, A., Wolkowitz, O. M., Doran, A. R., et al (1987) Neuroleptic responsivity of negative and positive symptoms in schizophrenia. American Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 15491555.Google Scholar
Crow, T. J. (1980) Molecular pathology of schizophrenia: More than one disease process? British Medical Journal, 280, 6668.Google Scholar
Crow, T. J. (1985) The two-syndrome concept: Origins and current status. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 11, 471486.Google Scholar
Davis, J. M. (1976) Comparative doses and costs of antipsychotic medication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 33, 858861.Google Scholar
Goldberg, S. C. (1985) Negative and deficit symptoms in schizophrenia do respond to neuroleptics. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 11, 453456.Google Scholar
Johnstone, E. C. (1989) The assessment of negative and positive features in schizophrenia. British Journal of Psychiatry, 155 (suppl. 7), 4144.Google Scholar
Kane, J. M. & Mayerhoff, D. (1989) Do negative symptoms respond to pharmacological treatment? British Journal of Psychiatry, 155 (suppl. 7), 115118.Google Scholar
Kay, S. R. & Opler, L. A. (1987) The positive-negative dimension in schizophrenia: Its validity and significance. Psychiatric Developments, 2, 79103.Google Scholar
Kay, S. R., Fiszbein, A. & Opler, L. A. (1987) The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 13, 261276.Google Scholar
Kraepelin, E. (1913) Dementia Praecox and Paraphrenia (trans. (1971) Barclay, R. M. & Robertson, G. M.). New York: E. Krieger.Google Scholar
Kulhara, P., Kota, S. K. & Joseph, S. (1986) Positive and negative subtypes of schizophrenia: A study from India. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 74, 353359.Google Scholar
Meltzer, H. Y., Sommers, A. A. & Luchins, D. J. (1986) The effect of neuroleptics and other psychotropic drugs on negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, 6, 329337.Google Scholar
Moscarelli, M., Maffei, C., Mario, B., et al (1987) An international perspective on assessment of negative and positive symptoms in schizophrenia. American Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 15951598.Google Scholar
Norusis, M. J. (1988a) SPSS/PC+ V2.0. Base Manual. Chicago, Illinois: SPSS Inc.Google Scholar
Norusis, M. J. (1988b) SPSS/PC+ V3.0. Update Manual. Chicago, Illinois: SPSS Inc.Google Scholar
Phillips, M. R., Wei, X. & Zhao, Z. A. (1990) Issues Involved in the Use of Scales for Assessment of Negative and Positive Symptoms in Mental Disorders (Chinese). Wuhan, PRC: Hubei Scientific Press.Google Scholar
Pogue Geile, M. F. (1989) The prognostic significance of negative symptoms in schizophrenia. British Journal of Psychiatry, 155 (suppl. 7), 123127.Google Scholar
Sommers, A. A. (1985) “Negative symptoms”: Conceptual and methodological problems. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 11, 364379.Google Scholar
Strauss, J. S., Carpenter, W. T. & Bartko, J. J. (1974) The diagnosis and understanding of schizophrenia: Part III. Speculations on the processes that underlie schizophrenic symptoms and signs. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 11, 6169.Google Scholar
Yu, J. H. & Yang, B. H. (1988) Positive symptoms and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association, 27, 548571.Google Scholar
Zar, J. H. (1984) Biostatistical Analysis (2nd edn), pp. 323325. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.