Schizophreniform disorder - NeuRA Library

Schizophreniform disorder

What is schizophreniform disorder?

Schizophreniform disorder is a part of the schizophrenia spectrum of disorders and has sometimes been used as a provisional diagnosis while waiting to see if symptoms improve by six months or progress, resulting in a diagnosis of schizophrenia. DSM-5 requires at least one of the following symptoms is present for a significant portion of the time during a one-month period, but for less than six months: delusions, hallucinations or disorganised speech. Disorganised behaviour or negative symptoms may also be present. There can be no manic, depressive or mixed manic-depressive episodes, and any mood disturbance must have been present for minority of the time. The symptoms cannot be due to the effects of a substance or due to a medical or neurological disorder.

What is the evidence for schizophreniform disorder?

Moderate to high quality evidence suggests the rate of a schizophrenia diagnosis following a diagnosis of schizophreniform disorder is around 65% by about four years. The rate of first-episode psychosis patients retaining a diagnosis of schizophreniform disorder over time is around 29%.

February 2022

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Last updated at: 1:46 pm, 13th February 2022

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Tags: Negative symptoms Positive symptoms

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