Lifetime hypomanic symptoms in remitted patients with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders

Background: Clinical, genetic and neuroimaging studies indicated strong evidence against traditional diagnostic separation of bipolar disorder from schizophrenia. In this study, we aimed to evaluate hypomanic symptoms and influence on general functioning among psychotic patients. Subjects and methods: Patients with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders were assessed between June and September 2010. Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS), Hypomania Check List-32 (HCL-32), Mood Disorders Questionnaire (MDQ) and General Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAS) were applied to all 93 patients. Answers of self-rating scales were confirmed with hospital records. Results: Mean age was 35.7±9.5 years, mean age of onset was 20.3±5.3 years and duration of illness was 15.4±9.2 years. 30.1% of the patients, had a history of mood stabilizer treatment taken at least one month while one five of the patients had different psychiatric diagnosis other than current diagnosis. 26.9% of the patients with psychotic disorders had positive scores on both MDQ and HCL-32 but there were no significant difference between patients in terms of general functioning (p=0.82). Conclusions: As reported in this study, there is no simple, clear-cut between schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder