Depressed mood and its functional correlates in institutionalized schizophrenia patients
Received 15 July 2004; received in revised form 31 March 2005; accepted 4 April 2005.
Abstract
Objective
To determine the frequency of depressed mood in institutionalized schizophrenia patients and its association with illness-related and functional variables.
Methods
Out of 657 institutionalized schizophrenia patients, patients with depressed mood were identified and compared to non-depressed patients, matching for potential confounders.
Results
Forty-eight (7.3%) patients had moderate to severe depressed mood. They were younger, more educated and had fewer years since their first hospitalization than non-depressed patients. After matching for these variables, depressed patients showed more positive symptoms and exhibited better social and cognitive functioning. When controlling for negative symptoms, the differences in social and cognitive functioning between the depressed and non-depressed patients disappeared, and depressed patients showed more positive symptoms and more impaired impulse control.
Conclusions
Unlike the negative impact of depressed mood in other populations, this study shows that symptoms of depressed mood may identify a subgroup of institutionalized schizophrenia patients who show better functioning across a variety of indicators. Future studies should determine differential treatment responses and long-term outcomes of these patients.
aDepartment of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029, United States
bDepartment of Veterans Affairs, VISN 3 MIRECC, United States
Corresponding author. Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029, United States. Tel.: +1 212 659 8713; fax: +1 212 860 3945.
ABSTRACT