Neurocognitive functioning and quality of life in patients with and without deficit syndrome of schizophrenia

Deficit syndrome of schizophrenia is a subtype of schizophrenia characterized by primary and enduring negative symptoms. This study examined the differences in neurocognitive functioning and quality of life (QOL) between deficit and non-deficit patients, and specific predictors of both clinical measures. Overall, 344 subjects (175 patients with non-deficit schizophrenia (NDSZ), 58 patients with deficit schizophrenia (DSZ) and 111 healthy controls) were evaluated on severity of psychopathology, QOL and a smaller subset of 198 subjects (104 NDSZ, 27 DSZ, 67 healthy controls) underwent neurocognitive assessments. Multivariate analyses were used to determine differences in outcomes between subject groups and predictors of clinical measures. Both DSZ and NDSZ had significantly worse QOL compared with healthy controls. DSZ had more extensive cognitive deficits compared with healthy controls and performed worse on semantic fluency task compared to NDSZ. Multiple linear regression analysis found that DSZ, shorter duration of illness were associated with poorer QOL whereas fewer years of education, lower premorbid intelligence were associated with poorer overall neurocognitive functioning. The poorer QOL, greater extent of neurocognitive deficits especially semantic fluency associated with DSZ behoves the need for greater attention during clinical evaluation and treatment planning of this subgroup of individuals with schizophrenia.