Patient subgroups of schizophrenia based on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale: composition and transition between acute and subsided disease states

The present study focuses on schizophrenia patient subgroups with specific symptom pattern using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). In this report, we intend to (1) provide a more appropriate analytic method for exploring the subgroups based on PANSS data, (2) validate identified subgroups with external variables, and (3) estimate probabilities of subgroup changes between 2 disease states. The analyzed data include 219 acute-state patients who had completed the PANSS within 1 week of index admission and 225 subsided-state patients who were living in the community and under family care. Regression extension of latent class analysis was performed. We found that acute schizophrenia can be classified into 4 subgroups—whole syndrome, whole syndrome without hostility, partial syndrome with negative symptoms, and partial syndrome with pure reality distortion—and that subsided schizophrenia can be classified into 3 subgroups—florid symptom, marked negative, and remitted. Patients of the whole syndrome, whole syndrome without hostility, partial syndrome with negative symptoms, and partial syndrome with pure reality distortion subgroups at the acute state were most likely to transit to the florid symptom (61%), florid symptom (48%), marked negative (42%), and remitted (56%) subgroups at the subsided state, respectively. Significant relationships of obtained subgroups with sociodemographic variables and neurocognitive variables were identified. These results of different subgroups will provide the background for facilitating current molecular, genetic, and neurobiological studies of schizophrenia.