Pervalence of Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia

Negative symptoms in schizophrenia are among the most important barriers against rehabilitation of such patients. Apply of appropriate drugs for reducing such symptoms and take help from psychosocial treatments, especially social skills training in accompany with other facilities of community psychiatry can play key role in resolution of this problem. In this paper after some discussion about negative symptoms and grasping a better insight about them and their current treatments, we will survey a research as regards the prevalence of such symptoms in one hundred schizophrenic patients hospitalized in Razi psychiatric center and their relation with variables such as age, sex and longitudinal duration of illness. One hundred, randomly chosen, schizophrenic patients, half male and half female, from acute and chronic wards, were estimated with SANS Questionnaire as regards to their negative symptoms. Then, the relation of these findings with aforementioned variables has been surveyed. Prevalence of negative symptoms has been from 86% to 99% and severe ones too from 30% to 55%. No patient was free from such symptoms. As regards to quantity and severity, these percentiles are definitely more than ones which had been printed in Kaplan-Sadock textbook of psychiatry. The most sever ones were in chronic female ward, and the least sever ones in the acute female ward. No statistical relation has found between negative symptoms and age, sex and duration of illness. Extensive prevalence of negative symptoms among schizophrenic patients in this center and their severity show the unfortunate circumstances of such patients and necessitates appropriate therapeutics methods for reducing such symptoms and increasing their capacities for more independent living in family and community.