Swaran P Singh1. 1. Health Sciences Research Institute, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK. S.P.Singh@warwick.ac.uk
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) is considered an important predictor of short-term clinical outcome. AIMS: To explore the evolution ofthe concept of DUP synthesise the evidence for its predictive value, highlightthe problems in measurement, and consider the potential pitfalls of using DUPas a measure of the effectiveness of early intervention services. METHOD: A survey of recent literature was conducted. RESULTS: Several studies and two systematic reviews confirm that DUP has a robust but moderate effect on outcome in schizophrenia. Studies vary widely in how DUP is defined and measured, since identifying precise time points when psychosis emerges and remits is conceptually ambiguous and clinically difficult. CONCLUSIONS: Standardised measurement of DUP is a vital first step in allowing comparisons between studies. Duration of untreated psychosis is a relevant measure only of the early detection function of early intervention services.
BACKGROUND: Duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) is considered an important predictor of short-term clinical outcome. AIMS: To explore the evolution ofthe concept of DUP synthesise the evidence for its predictive value, highlightthe problems in measurement, and consider the potential pitfalls of using DUPas a measure of the effectiveness of early intervention services. METHOD: A survey of recent literature was conducted. RESULTS: Several studies and two systematic reviews confirm that DUP has a robust but moderate effect on outcome in schizophrenia. Studies vary widely in how DUP is defined and measured, since identifying precise time points when psychosis emerges and remits is conceptually ambiguous and clinically difficult. CONCLUSIONS: Standardised measurement of DUP is a vital first step in allowing comparisons between studies. Duration of untreated psychosis is a relevant measure only of the early detection function of early intervention services.
Authors: Emanuel Schwarz; Rauf Izmailov; Michael Spain; Anthony Barnes; James P Mapes; Paul C Guest; Hassan Rahmoune; Sandra Pietsch; F Markus Leweke; Matthias Rothermundt; Johann Steiner; Dagmar Koethe; Laura Kranaster; Patricia Ohrmann; Thomas Suslow; Yishai Levin; Bernhard Bogerts; Nico Jm van Beveren; George McAllister; Natalya Weber; David Niebuhr; David Cowan; Robert H Yolken; Sabine Bahn Journal: Biomark Insights Date: 2010-05-12