Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) in First Episode of Psychosis

OBJECTIVE: Neurocognitive deficits are now recognized as part of the fundamental disturbances and are a major determinant of functional outcome in psychosis. A cross-sectional association between cognitive deficits and poor social and occupational outcomes has been demonstrated; and treatment of cognitive impairment at the time of the first episode may have the potential to change functional outcomes of the illness. We conducted this study to evaluate cognitive function in first episode of psychosis by the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). METHOD: Sixty two patients with first episode of psychosis were selected and underwent psychiatric interview and took MMSE test. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS-18 software. RESULTS: According to MMSE scale, 47 patients (75.8%) showed definite cognitive impairment, 8(12.9%) showed possible impairment, and 7(11.3%) showed no cognitive impairment. According to MMSE subscale, registration (69.4%) and recall (77.3%) were the most impaired cognitive areas. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the current study indicate significant cognitive impairment in patients with first episode of psychosis. We recommend future studies with larger sample size and control group for further evaluation of cognitive function as early treatment of cognitive impairments may have important implications in the course of illness.