Korean J Schizophr Res.  2019 Oct;22(2):51-55. 10.16946/kjsr.2019.22.2.51.

Comparative Study of Clinical Features between Early- and Late-Onset Schizophrenia in South Korea

• Ko MA
• Lee SK
• Lee JS

• KMID: 2462052
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.16946/kjsr.2019.22.2.51

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Late-onset schizophrenia (LOS, age at first onset ≥40 years) is characterized by including predominance of women, better premorbid social adjustment and lower severity of positive/negative symptoms. However, few studies have been conducted on LOS, especially in Asian countries. This study aimed to examine the clinical features of LOS in comparison with early-onset schizophrenia (EOS).
METHODS
By retrospectively reviewing medical records, we assessed demographic data and clinical features of 76 LOS (20 males) and 357 EOS (144 males) who admitted to the psychiatric ward of a general hospital.
RESULTS
The mean ages of onset were 47.3±5.1 (LOS) and 25.7±6.5 (EOS) years. There were significantly more women in LOS (73.7%) than EOS (59.6%). Significantly more LOS patients had a marital (88.2% vs. 25.8%) and employment history (28.9% vs. 13.1%) than EOS. Patients with LOS had fewer negative (14.3±9.0 vs. 19.9±9.3), general psychopathology score (36.9±11.1 vs. 42.3±13.9) than EOS patients.
CONCLUSION
In line with previous studies, this study demonstrated that LOS patients have better premorbid social adjustment. Our finding also replicates previous findings that LOS patients differ from EOS in predominance of women and relative lack of negative symptoms. These results suggest that LOS may be a distinct subtype of schizophrenia.

Keyword

Age of onset; Late onset; Negative symptoms; Schizophrenia; Sex ratio

MeSH Terms

Age of Onset
Asian Continental Ancestry Group
Employment
Female
Hospitals, General
Humans
Korea*
Medical Records
Psychopathology
Retrospective Studies
Schizophrenia*
Sex Ratio
Social Adjustment

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