{"title":"Predictors of relapse after discontinuing antipsychotics in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.","authors":"Ling Li, Thi Hung Le, Woo Sung Kim, Soyolsaikhan Odkhuu, Chae Yeong Kang, Ariana Setiani, EunJin Jeon, Fatima Zahra Rami, Young-Chul Chung","doi":"10.1038/s41537-025-00592-3","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We studied 61 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders who discontinued medication after achieving symptomatic remission. Over 3 years, relapse rates were significantly higher in those not meeting full recovery (p = 0.006) or remission (p < 0.001) criteria, with rates up to twice as high. Significant differences between relapsed and maintained groups included age at onset (p = 0.004), age at discontinuation (p = 0.009), and proportions meeting full recovery (p = 0.001) or remission (p = 0.003). Univariate Cox regression identified older age of onset (p = 0.038), lack of full recovery (p = 0.008) or remission (p = 0.001), and higher positive symptom score (p = 0.018) as predictors of relapse. In multivariate analysis, only full remission remained significant (p = 0.002). Our findings suggest that in making decision about discontinuation, applying more strict approaches, i.e., full recovery or remission criteria and detailed assessment of positive symptoms are critical and essential.</p>","PeriodicalId":74758,"journal":{"name":"Schizophrenia (Heidelberg, Germany)","volume":"11 1","pages":"42"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Schizophrenia (Heidelberg, Germany)","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41537-025-00592-3","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PSYCHIATRY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
We studied 61 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders who discontinued medication after achieving symptomatic remission. Over 3 years, relapse rates were significantly higher in those not meeting full recovery (p = 0.006) or remission (p < 0.001) criteria, with rates up to twice as high. Significant differences between relapsed and maintained groups included age at onset (p = 0.004), age at discontinuation (p = 0.009), and proportions meeting full recovery (p = 0.001) or remission (p = 0.003). Univariate Cox regression identified older age of onset (p = 0.038), lack of full recovery (p = 0.008) or remission (p = 0.001), and higher positive symptom score (p = 0.018) as predictors of relapse. In multivariate analysis, only full remission remained significant (p = 0.002). Our findings suggest that in making decision about discontinuation, applying more strict approaches, i.e., full recovery or remission criteria and detailed assessment of positive symptoms are critical and essential.