Disability and premorbid adjustment in schizophrenia: A retrospective analysis

BACKGROUND: Schizophrenia is highly disabling. Though efforts at genetic mapping to identify those at risk of the illness have been promising but same cannot be said about predicting its associated disability before illness-onset (i.e., during premorbid phase). It is envisaged that Schizophrenia-related disability may be ameliorated if premorbid clinical markers are adequately predictive enough to identify those at risk and worked upon them. AIM: This study aimed to determine whether there is a relationship between schizophrenia-related disability and premorbid adjustment. SETTING: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the out-patient clinic of the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. METHODS: Three hundred patients with the diagnosis of schizophrenia and within the age range of 18–64 years were eligible for the study. RESULTS: Mean age of the participants was 41.9 ± 10.05 years with a slight female dominance (50.7%). Spearman’s correlation revealed a direct correlation between disability and premorbid adjustment, albeit rather weak (r(s) = 0.130, p = 0.025). CONCLUSION: Pre-diagnostic factors such as premorbid functioning may play a role in the subsequent functioning of an individual post-diagnosis. Other research efforts may focus on yet-to-be identified premorbid factors that may be targets of prevention to reduce disability in schizophrenia. CONTRIBUTION: This research serves as a pioneer work on disability and premorbid adjustment and has provided a template for the early identification of those at risk of schizophrenia by providing an intervention opportunity at the premorbid stage.