Journal List > J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc > v.51(5) > 1017586

Park, Lee, and Kim: The Impact of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder on Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Schizophrenia

Abstract

Objectives

This study investigated the prevalence of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in patients with schizophrenia and compared the clinical outcomes in the PTSD group and the non-PTSD group.

Methods

Among 38 patients, a total of 35 schizophrenic patients completed the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Life Stressor Checklist-Revised (LSCL-R), and Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS).

Results

Thirty three patients (94.2%) had at least one trauma and average 3.9 traumatic events in their life time. There were 12 patients (34.3%) who were diagnosed with PTSD. There were no differences of sociodemographic, duration of illness, number of admission, and duration of admission between the PTSD and non-PTSD groups. After one year treatment, the non-PTSD group had significantly improved in PANSS positive, negative, and general psychopathology scale. However, the PTSD group demonstrated no significant changes in PANSS negative and general psychopathology scale.

Conclusion

In this study, there were high rate of prevalence of trauma and PTSD in patients with schizophrenia. PTSD had negative effects on clinical outcomes in patients with schizophrenia. Careful trauma-focused approach is necessary within this population.

Figures and Tables

Table 1
Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients with schizophrenia with and without PTSD
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Values are mean (standard deviation) or number (%). Statistics were analyzed by Student's t-test or Fisher's exact chi-square test. p<0.05. PTSD : Post-traumatic stress disorder

Table 2
Comparisons of clinical outcomes with both group
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Values are mean (standard deviation). Statistics were analyzed by Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test. p<0.05. PANSS : Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, PTSD : Post-traumatic stress disorder

Notes

The authors have no financial conflicts of interest.

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