Abstract:
OBJECTIVE: depressive symptoms are prevalent, underrecognised
and clinically important in patients suffering from
schizophrenia. Depressive symptoms in schizophrenia patients
are associated with distinct morbidity and mortality. The
objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of
depressive symptoms in a subgroup of chronic schizophrenia,
Kraepelinian schizophrenia, and the association with severity
of illness. Kraepelinian schizophrenia is characterised by
a chronic, unremitting, severe course of illness and severe
deterioration of functioning in social, work and self-care
domains.
METHOD: The Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia
(CDSS) and the Clinical Global Impression Severity (CGI-S)
scale were administered to 113 patients who fulfilled the
criteria of Kraepelinian schizophrenia.
RESULTS: Sixty-eight males and 45 females participated
in the study. Of this group, 17.7% scored 5 or more on
the CDSS. The CGI-S scores indicated that almost half
of the patients were moderately ill (i.e. a score of 4 on
the CGI-S scale). Of the patients, 94 were receiving
first-generation antipsychotic medication and 19 secondgeneration
antipsychotic medication. Thirteen patients were
also receiving antidepressant medication.
CONCLUSION: The findings of this study are consistent with
current reports in the literature that depressive symptoms are
not common in Kraepelinian schizophrenia, even though
patients are moderately to severely ill in both symptom and
functional domains.
