Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe psychiatric disorder characterized by disturbances in thought processes, perception, emotions, and behavior. It affects approximately 1% of the global population and is a major cause of disability worldwide. The disorder commonly develops during late adolescence or early adulthood and significantly impacts social, occupational, and psychological functioning. The etiology of schizophrenia is multifactorial, involving genetic susceptibility, environmental influences, and neurobiological abnormalities, particularly disturbances in dopamine neurotransmission. This article is based on a narrative review of published medical literature, including information obtained from reliable sources such as the NCBI StatPearls database. The review summarizes the current understanding of the causes, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment of schizophrenia. The findings indicate that schizophrenia presents with positive symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions, negative symptoms including social withdrawal and lack of motivation, and cognitive impairments affecting memory and attention. Diagnosis is primarily clinical and based on established diagnostic criteria. Management mainly involves antipsychotic medications combined with psychosocial interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy, family education, and rehabilitation programs. Early diagnosis and comprehensive treatment are essential to improve patient outcomes and quality of life. Continued research is necessary to better understand the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and to develop more effective therapeutic strategies .
Nurdinova et al. (Tue,) studied this question.