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Are Executive Functions Deficits in Early-Onset Chronic Schizophrenia More Severe than in Adult-Onset Chronic Schizophrenia?

OBJECTIVE: The research on the age of schizophrenia onset and cognitive impairments leads to contradictory conclusions. It is still unknown whether neurocognitive deficits in early-onset schizophrenia (EOS) are more intense than adulthood-onset schizophrenia (AOS). The study aimed to examine specifi...

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Autores principales: Hintze, Beata, Rowicka, Magdalena, Barczak, Anna
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Giovanni Fioriti Editore srl 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8951167/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35360466
http://dx.doi.org/10.36131/cnfioritieditore20220108
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author Hintze, Beata
Rowicka, Magdalena
Barczak, Anna
author_facet Hintze, Beata
Rowicka, Magdalena
Barczak, Anna
author_sort Hintze, Beata
collection PubMed
description OBJECTIVE: The research on the age of schizophrenia onset and cognitive impairments leads to contradictory conclusions. It is still unknown whether neurocognitive deficits in early-onset schizophrenia (EOS) are more intense than adulthood-onset schizophrenia (AOS). The study aimed to examine specific aspects of the executive functions of chronic outpatients with different ages of schizophrenia onset. METHOD: Two clinical groups (EOS and AOS) consisted of 60 chronic outpatients with schizophrenia recruited from the community-based support system. The executive functions were measured with the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Trail Making Test A&B (TMT A&B), verbal fluency task (VFT), and the N-back test. Obtained results were compared to control groups consisting of 40 healthy subjects, matched with age, sex, and years of education, respectively. RESULTS: There were no differences in various aspects of executive dysfunctions between EOS and AOS outpatients. The outpatients in general, had lower scores than healthy controls regardless of their age of symptom onset. The most important finding suggests that some cognitive domains (visual working memory and processing speed) in presented schizophrenia patients were similar to those in healthy controls. Despite the demographic differences, both clinical groups present the same level of executive functioning. In addition, similar to the healthy participants, the outpatients had no problems in working memory and processing speed. CONCLUSIONS: These observations suggest that EOS might not be associated with more severe cognitive deterioration. Moreover, the stabilization or improvement of their functioning might be linked with long-term psycho-social rehabilitation and modern pharmacotherapy.
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spelling pubmed-89511672022-03-30 Are Executive Functions Deficits in Early-Onset Chronic Schizophrenia More Severe than in Adult-Onset Chronic Schizophrenia? Hintze, Beata Rowicka, Magdalena Barczak, Anna Clin Neuropsychiatry Research Paper OBJECTIVE: The research on the age of schizophrenia onset and cognitive impairments leads to contradictory conclusions. It is still unknown whether neurocognitive deficits in early-onset schizophrenia (EOS) are more intense than adulthood-onset schizophrenia (AOS). The study aimed to examine specific aspects of the executive functions of chronic outpatients with different ages of schizophrenia onset. METHOD: Two clinical groups (EOS and AOS) consisted of 60 chronic outpatients with schizophrenia recruited from the community-based support system. The executive functions were measured with the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Trail Making Test A&B (TMT A&B), verbal fluency task (VFT), and the N-back test. Obtained results were compared to control groups consisting of 40 healthy subjects, matched with age, sex, and years of education, respectively. RESULTS: There were no differences in various aspects of executive dysfunctions between EOS and AOS outpatients. The outpatients in general, had lower scores than healthy controls regardless of their age of symptom onset. The most important finding suggests that some cognitive domains (visual working memory and processing speed) in presented schizophrenia patients were similar to those in healthy controls. Despite the demographic differences, both clinical groups present the same level of executive functioning. In addition, similar to the healthy participants, the outpatients had no problems in working memory and processing speed. CONCLUSIONS: These observations suggest that EOS might not be associated with more severe cognitive deterioration. Moreover, the stabilization or improvement of their functioning might be linked with long-term psycho-social rehabilitation and modern pharmacotherapy. Giovanni Fioriti Editore srl 2022-02 /pmc/articles/PMC8951167/ /pubmed/35360466 http://dx.doi.org/10.36131/cnfioritieditore20220108 Text en © 2022 Giovanni Fioriti Editore s.r.l. This is an open access article. Distribution and reproduction are permitted in any medium, provided the original authors and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Paper
Hintze, Beata
Rowicka, Magdalena
Barczak, Anna
Are Executive Functions Deficits in Early-Onset Chronic Schizophrenia More Severe than in Adult-Onset Chronic Schizophrenia?
title Are Executive Functions Deficits in Early-Onset Chronic Schizophrenia More Severe than in Adult-Onset Chronic Schizophrenia?
title_full Are Executive Functions Deficits in Early-Onset Chronic Schizophrenia More Severe than in Adult-Onset Chronic Schizophrenia?
title_fullStr Are Executive Functions Deficits in Early-Onset Chronic Schizophrenia More Severe than in Adult-Onset Chronic Schizophrenia?
title_full_unstemmed Are Executive Functions Deficits in Early-Onset Chronic Schizophrenia More Severe than in Adult-Onset Chronic Schizophrenia?
title_short Are Executive Functions Deficits in Early-Onset Chronic Schizophrenia More Severe than in Adult-Onset Chronic Schizophrenia?
title_sort are executive functions deficits in early-onset chronic schizophrenia more severe than in adult-onset chronic schizophrenia?
topic Research Paper
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8951167/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35360466
http://dx.doi.org/10.36131/cnfioritieditore20220108
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