Social anxiety in schizophrenia: relationship with social adjustment and duration of untreated psychosis
Poster A124, Thursday, October 20, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm, Le Baron
Sayaka Aikawa1, Hiroyuki Kobayashi1,2, Takahiro Nemoto1, Satoshi Matsuo2, Yo Wada1, Masaya Sakurai2, Noriyuki Mamiya2, Naohisa Tsujino1, Kei Sakuma3, Masaaki Murakami4, Masafumi Mizuno1; 1Toho University School of Medicine., 2Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., 3Asaka Hospital., 4Meiji Gakuin University.
Introduction: In the previous study, social anxiety is reported as a comorbid symptom among people with schizophrenia and should be highlighted in achieving recovery. We aimed to clarify the risk factors of social anxiety symptoms in young adults with schizophrenia focusing on the social cognition, social functioning, and duration of untreated psychosis (DUP). Methods: Two hundred seven outpatients with schizophrenia aged 40 years or younger (101 men, 106 women) were recruited at the Toho University Omori Medical Center. They were assessed for the severity of social anxiety symptoms, the level of psychotic symptoms, depression or anxiety symptoms, social functioning, cognitive function including facial emotional cognition, theory of mind, insight for illness, subjective quality of life, and subjective well-being. We conducted multiple linear regressions using social anxiety symptom score as an outcome variable and patient background factors as predictors. Results: Of the 207 patients with schizophrenia, N=30 (14.5%) met the criteria of social anxiety disorder according to the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Social anxiety symptom score was correlated with the level of psychotic symptoms, depression, anxiety, subjective quality of life, subjective well-being, and social functioning. Multiple regression showed that social anxiety symptom score was significantly associated with social functioning, female sex, age at onset and DUP. Conclusion: Social anxiety comorbid with schizophrenia was associated with subjective difficulty and predicted by delay in the first treatment. Adequate intervention focusing on social anxiety from the early phase of illness may be helpful for achievement of treatment goals.
Topic Area: Psychosocial Interventions