Improvement of subjective well-being and enduring symptomatic remission, a 5-year follow-up of first episode schizophrenia.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this prospective study was to compare the predictive validity of early improvement of subjective experience and early improvement of rater assessed symptoms on enduring symptomatic remission (ESR) status during 5 years follow.
METHODS: 110 consecutively admitted patients suffering from a first episode of schizophrenia or related disorders were investigated. We defined early improvement of subjective well-being as a delta-score of the total Subjective Well-being under Neuroleptics scale-20 item version (SWN-K) at admission and after 6 weeks treatment. The severity of psychopathology was assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) at admission, 6 weeks, 6 months, 3 and 5 years after admission. Enduring symptomatic remission (ESR) was defined as complying to the symptomatic remission criteria at PANSS assessment at 6 months and 5 years and continuing this state between 6 months and 5 years follow-up. Paired-samples and independent t-test were used to compare means.
RESULTS: Patients with ESR (n=30) had a higher mean improvement of subjective well-being during early treatment as assessed with the SWN-K than those without ESR (n=74) (p=0.004). Early symptomatic improvement as assessed with the PANSS was not related to ESR (p=0.95). DISCUSSION: Early improvement of subjective well-being is related to ESR in first episode schizophrenia or related disorders.