Ten year longitudinal study of neuropsychological functioning subsequent to a first episode of schizophrenia

We previously reported relative stability in neuropsychological functions over a 4- to 5-year period after the onset of a first episode of schizophrenia, with patients demonstrating less improvement than controls on some functions [Hoff, A.L., Sakuma, M., Wieneke, M., Horon, R., Kushner, M., DeLisi, L.E., 1999. A longitudinal follow-up study of neuropsychological functioning subsequent to a first-episode of schizophrenia. American Journal of Psychiatry 156, 1336-1341.]. The current study was conducted to extend follow-up evaluations through 10 years of illness to determine whether neuropsychological functions remain stable or deteriorate over a longer time period. Twenty-one first episode patients and 8 controls were re-evaluated 10 years after an initial evaluation on neuropsychological and clinical measures. Repeated measures analyses demonstrated no differences between patients and controls in degree of change over this time period nor was change in symptoms reliably associated with improvement or deterioration in cognitive abilities. However, baseline level of cognitive functioning was correlated with the degree of change. Thus, when the baseline level of functioning was controlled for in the analyses, less or lack of improvement was seen in the patients compared with controls in verbal intellectual functioning, delayed verbal and nonverbal recall, and cognitive inhibition (Stroop Color Word Test). In no test did patients deteriorate significantly more than controls. We conclude that most first episode patients have had considerable cognitive decline by the time of their first hospitalization and that it remains relatively stable through at least 10 years of illness. Most cognitive change takes place early in this illness, prior to the first hospitalization, but its exact timing still remains unknown.