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Fekih-Romdhane F, Hajje R, Haddad C, Hallit S, Azar J. Exploring negative symptoms heterogeneity in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder using cluster analysis. BMC Psychiatry 2023; 23:595. [PMID: 37582728 PMCID: PMC10428523 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-023-05101-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/17/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Dissecting the heterogeneity of schizophrenia may help foster progress in understanding its etiology and lay the groundwork for the development of new treatment options for primary or enduring negative symptoms (NS). In this regard, the present study aimed to: (1) to use cluster analysis to identify subgroups of Lebanese patients diagnosed with either schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder based on NS clusters, and (2) to relate the statistically-derived subgroups to clinically relevant external validators (including measures if state and trait depression, stigma, insight, loneliness, social support). METHOD A total of 202 adult long-stay, chronic, and clinically remitted patients (166 diagnosed with schizophrenia and 36 with schizoaffective disorder) were enrolled. A cluster analysis approach was adopted to classify patients based on the five NS domains social withdrawal, emotional withdrawal, alogia, avolition and anhedonia. RESULTS A three-cluster solution was obtained based on unique NS profiles, and divided patients into (1) low NS (LNS; 42.6%) which characterized by the lowest mean scores in all NS domains, (2) moderate NS (MNS; 25.7%), and (3) high NS (HNS; 31.7%). Post-hoc comparisons showed that depression (state and trait), loneliness and social support could accurately distinguish the schizophrenia subgroups. Additionally, individuals in the HNS cluster had longer duration of illness, longer duration of hospitalization, and were given higher dosages of antipsychotic medication compared to those in the other clusters, but these differences did not achieve the statistical significance. CONCLUSION Findings provide additional support to the categorical model of schizophrenia by confirming the existence of three alternate subtypes based on NS. The determination of distinct NS subgroups within the broad heterogeneous population of people diagnosed with schizophrenia may imply that each subgroup possibly has unique underlying mechanisms and necessitates different treatment approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feten Fekih-Romdhane
- The Tunisian Center of Early Intervention in Psychosis, Department of Psychiatry “Ibn Omrane”, Razi hospital, Manouba, 2010 Tunisia
- Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, Tunis El Manar University, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Romy Hajje
- Faculty of Science, Lebanese University, Fanar, Lebanon
| | - Chadia Haddad
- Research Department, Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross, Jal Eddib, Lebanon
- INSPECT-LB (Institut National de Santé Publique, d’Épidémiologie Clinique et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut, Lebanon
- School of Health Sciences, Modern University for Business and Science, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Souheil Hallit
- Research Department, Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross, Jal Eddib, Lebanon
- School of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, P.O. Box 446, Jounieh, Lebanon
- Applied Science Research Center, Applied Science Private University, Amman, Jordan
| | - Jocelyne Azar
- School of Medicine, Lebanese American University, Byblos, Lebanon
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Haddad C, Dib JE, Akl N, Hallit S, Obeid S. COVID-19 and psychosis, depression, obsession and quality of life in Lebanese patients with schizophrenia: Any changes after 5 months of quarantine? BMC Psychol 2022; 10:32. [PMID: 35183260 PMCID: PMC8857626 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-022-00750-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 02/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previous research revealed an absence of any previous studies reporting the impact that pandemics may have on psychotic symptomology, nor on the physical health of people with psychosis in response to the epidemics of the COVID-19. The direction of the impact of the COVID-19 on schizophrenia is unknown, as the risk of infection could vary from patients to patients according to clinical comorbidities, cognitive impairment, acute symptoms, and family support. To the best of our knowledge, no study has provided details on the variation of symptoms in patients with schizophrenia during the quarantine of COVID-19 outbreak. Therefore, the primary objective of the study is to investigate the variation of psychotic symptoms, depression, obsession and quality of life in patients with schizophrenia before and after 5 months of quarantine and evaluate factors associated with these variations during the quarantine period. METHODS A cross-sectional study was performed on a sample of 190 chronic patients institutionalized for schizophrenia for more than 1 year at the Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross. The baseline assessment was done in December 2019; the second assessment was done in August 2020 (5 months after the lockdown). RESULTS Getting updates about the coronavirus minimally, some and most of the times were significantly associated with a decrease in positive psychotic and psychopathologic symptoms 5 months after quarantine compared to before it. Practicing religiosity some and all the time versus not was significantly associated with a decrease in negative, psychopathology symptoms and total PANSS score after 5 months of quarantine compared to before it. Finally, female gender (B = 1.77) was significantly associated with an increase in the WHO Domain 3 score (better social relations) after 5 months of quarantine compared to before it. CONCLUSION Patients with schizophrenia fare better symptomatically after 5 months of quarantine if they receive constant updates about COVID-19 and if they tended to practice religiosity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chadia Haddad
- Research Department, Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross, Jal Eddib, Lebanon
- INSPECT-LB (Institut National de Santé Publique, d'Épidémiologie Clinique et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Joseph E Dib
- Division of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Nadine Akl
- Research Department, Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross, Jal Eddib, Lebanon
| | - Souheil Hallit
- Research Department, Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross, Jal Eddib, Lebanon.
- School of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, P.O. Box 446, Jounieh, Lebanon.
| | - Sahar Obeid
- Social and Education Sciences Department, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, Jbeil, Lebanon.
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Haddad C, Salameh P, Sacre H, Clément JP, Calvet B. General description of cognitive deficits in schizophrenia and assessment tools in Lebanon: A scoping review. SCHIZOPHRENIA RESEARCH-COGNITION 2021; 25:100199. [PMID: 34094889 PMCID: PMC8163972 DOI: 10.1016/j.scog.2021.100199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Revised: 05/10/2021] [Accepted: 05/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Many cognitive functions are affected in schizophrenia patients, particularly memory, attention, motor skills, executive function, and social cognition. Cognitive assessment is one of the best indicators of the functional and social prognosis of schizophrenic patients. In Lebanon, no study has yet examined the assessment of cognitive functions in patients with neurological or psychiatric diseases. This review aims to provide an overview of the cognitive profiles of schizophrenia and describe the different cognitive tests used in Lebanon. The MEDLINE/PubMed database was used to conduct a literature review covering all studies related to cognition in psychosis patients from 1990 until March 2021. This screening resulted in 97 articles focused on cognition in psychiatric patients or cognitive tests in schizophrenia and required an in-depth analysis. The majority of measures developed to evaluate cognition in patients with schizophrenia were from Western countries, most of which are long and complex and may require several hours to administer. The number of neuropsychological tests available in Arab countries is unknown, although it is likely to be limited compared to what is available in Western countries. In Lebanon, some neuropsychological batteries have been locally used to assess cognition without being translated and validated to be adapted to the Lebanese sociocultural context. Clinicians in Lebanon underestimate the extent of cognitive impairment in schizophrenia patients as they have limited options, using untranslated tests or using translations that have not been validated. Future studies should target the development and adaptation of instruments that predict and measure cognition and functional ability. Many cognitive functions are generally impaired in patients with schizophrenia The number of neuropsychological tests available in Arab countries is unknown In Lebanon, some neuropsychological batteries have been used to assess cognition without being translated and validated Few studies conducted in Lebanon have used neurocognitive tests among schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chadia Haddad
- INSERM, Univ. Limoges, IRD, U1094 Tropical Neuroepidemiology, Institute of Epidemiology and Tropical Neurology, GEIST, Limoges, France
- Pôle Universitaire de Psychiatrie de l'Adulte, de l'Agée et d'Addictologie, Centre Hospitalier Esquirol, 87000 Limoges, France
- Research Department, Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross, Jal Eddib, Lebanon
- INSPECT-LB (Institut National de Santé Publique, d'Épidémiologie Clinique et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut, Lebanon
- Corresponding author at: Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross, P.O. Box 60096, Jall-Eddib, Lebanon.
| | - Pascale Salameh
- INSPECT-LB (Institut National de Santé Publique, d'Épidémiologie Clinique et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut, Lebanon
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
- University of Nicosia Medical School, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Hala Sacre
- INSPECT-LB (Institut National de Santé Publique, d'Épidémiologie Clinique et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Jean-Pierre Clément
- INSERM, Univ. Limoges, IRD, U1094 Tropical Neuroepidemiology, Institute of Epidemiology and Tropical Neurology, GEIST, Limoges, France
- Pôle Universitaire de Psychiatrie de l'Adulte, de l'Agée et d'Addictologie, Centre Hospitalier Esquirol, 87000 Limoges, France
- Centre Mémoire de Ressources et de Recherche du Limousin, Centre Hospitalier Esquirol, 87000 Limoges, France
| | - Benjamin Calvet
- INSERM, Univ. Limoges, IRD, U1094 Tropical Neuroepidemiology, Institute of Epidemiology and Tropical Neurology, GEIST, Limoges, France
- Pôle Universitaire de Psychiatrie de l'Adulte, de l'Agée et d'Addictologie, Centre Hospitalier Esquirol, 87000 Limoges, France
- Centre Mémoire de Ressources et de Recherche du Limousin, Centre Hospitalier Esquirol, 87000 Limoges, France
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