Prolonged duration of untreated early-onset psychosis predicts lower functional improvement in children

A review of 35 studies of early-onset schizophrenia-spectrum psychosis (EOS) identified the most common psychotic symptoms and the disorders that most often co-occur in children and adolescents with EOS. The longer the psychosis goes untreated, the lower the predicted functional improvement, according to a study published in Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com/).

In "Clinical Characteristics and Predictors of Outcome of Schizophrenia-Spectrum Psychosis in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/cap.2015.0097)," Marie Stentebjerg-Olesen, MD, Anne Pagsberg, MD, and Pia Jeppesen, MD, Mental Health Services, the Capital Region of Denmark and University of Copenhagen; Anders Fink-Jensen, MD, Copenhagen University Hospital and University of Copenhagen, and Christoph Correll, MD, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System and School of Medicine and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, report that although the children's and teen's symptoms and functioning improved significantly over time, they experienced frequent pre- and co-morbid conditions. Poorer adjustment to pre-morbid conditions was also associated with worse EOS outcomes.