Predictors of relapse in first episode psychosis: 1-year follow-up study in Hong Kong

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the potential predictor for relapse among a group of first episode psychotic patients in Hong Kong at 1-year period. A total of 153 (70 males, 83 females) consecutive cases were recruited from two regional acute psychiatric hospitals. The mean age of onset and educational level of the sample were 31.8 years (SD = 9.1. and 10.5 years (SD = 3.3., respectively. The majority diagnosis was schizophrenia 962%), followed by schizophreniform disorder (23.3%), and other types of psychotic disorders (14.7%). A set of potential predictors were identified from literature: age of onset, gender, psychotic symptoms, family history, medication dosage as well as its side effect and were entered into the logistic regression analysis. Presence of at least one relapse in 1 year was the dependent variable in the analysis. Twenty cases (13.3%) suffering from at least one relapse during the past 1 year, which was comparable with other previous studies. Age at onset was found to be the only significant predictor of first-year relapse (Wald statistics (1) = 4.563, p = 0.033). Those who relapsed by 1 year Ž25 years old. were younger than those who did not relapse (35 years old).