Neurocognitive Impairment in Severe Mental Illness. Comparative study with Spanish Speaking Patients

Background. Serious mental illness (SMI) represents a category of psychiatric disorders characterized by specific difficulties of personal and social functioning, derived from suffering severe and persistent mental health problems. Aims. We wanted to look into differences in cognitive performance among different SMI patients. Methods. Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) screening was applied in one sample of SMI patients (n = 149) and another of healthy comparison participants (n = 35). Within the SMI sample, three different subsamples were formed: one with 97 patients with schizophrenia, a second with 29 patients with mood disorders, and a third with 23 patients with personality disorder. We performed a comparative study within and between groups. Results. Analysis of covariance was performed. Significant differences were found for cognitive functioning including attention and memory. Conclusions. RBANS can be recommended for the detection of neurocognitive deficits in psychiatric disorders, especially in Schizophrenia.