A systematic review of the long-term outcome of early onset schizophrenia

BACKGROUND: The current review analyzes the long-term outcome and prognosis of early onset schizophrenia based on previously published studies in 1980. METHODS: A systematic search of articles published in the English-language literature after 1980 identified a total of 21 studies, which included 716 patients who were either suffering from early onset schizophrenia (EOS) or both EOS and other psychotic disorders (MIX). The authors of the current review scored the outcome as either "good," "moderate," or "poor." The mean age of onset in these studies was 10 years, small to moderate for more unfavourable outcomes in males, and small to large for worse outcomes in studies including patients diagnosed before 1970. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to the adult manifestation, the early manifestation of schizophrenia in childhood and adolescence still carries a particularly poor prognosis. According to these aggregated data analyses, longer follow-up periods, male sex, and patients having been diagnosed before 1970 contribute predominantly to the rather poor course of EOS.