Trajectories of social functioning among Japanese patients with first-episode psychosis: a 2-year follow-up study

Poster A67, Monday, October%208, 11:30%20am%20-%201:00%20pm, Essex%20Ballroom

Atsushi Sakuma1, Naohisa Tsujino2, Shimako Nishiyama3, Tsubasa Morimoto4, Nemoto Takahiro2, Noriyuki Ohmuro1, Hiroki Ozawa5, Shinji Shimodera6, Toshifumi Kishimoto4, Michio Suzuki3, Masafumi Mizuno2, Kazunori Matsumoto7; 1Department of Psychiatry, Tohoku University Hospital, 2Department of Neuropsychiatry, Toho University School of Medicine, 3Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, 4Department of Psychiatry, Nara Medical University, 5Department of Neuropsychiatry, Unit of Translational Medicine, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 6Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, 7Department of Psychiatry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine

Objectives: Despite growing awareness, the evidence for the longitudinal course of social functioning in patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP) remains scarce, and factors associated with poor prognosis remain unclarified. This study aims to elucidate distinct trajectories and related factors of social functioning among Japanese patients with FEP. Method: Between July 1, 2008, and March 31, 2011, we enrolled 126 individuals with FEP from six regions of Japan (Miyagi, Tokyo, Toyama, Nara, Kochi, and Nagasaki) at six university, three general, and five psychiatric hospitals. We assessed their social functioning at baseline, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months using the Social Functioning Scale (Japanese version). In addition, group-based trajectory modeling was used to elucidate distinct trajectories. This study was approved by the Ethics Committees of all the institutions involved, and an informed consent was obtained from all the individuals. Results: We identified four distinct social functioning profiles: high-increasing (12.6%), moderate-increasing (30.1%), moderate-stable (38.7%), and low-stable (18.7%). Individuals with higher PANSS negative score at the baseline and male gender were more likely to be classified in the low-stable trajectory. Conclusions: This study highlights the heterogeneity in social functioning of FEP in the first 2 years after the onset. Although individuals with higher functioning at the baseline exhibited good improvement, those with lower functioning exhibited little improvement. Early identification of FEP individuals with impaired social functioning and intensive intervention in such individuals may be critical for the management of FEP.

Topic Area: First Episode Psychosis

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