Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia: History of the Concept and Recent Studies

Schizophrenic disorders in childhood are rare: 0.1-1 percent of all schizophrenic disorders manifest themselves before age 10, and 4 percent before age 15. There is, however, a remarkable increase in schizophrenia during adolescence. Age and developmental stage also influence symptoms, course, and o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Schizophrenia bulletin 1994, Vol.20 (4), p.727-745
Main Authors: Remschmidt, Helmut E., Schulz, Eberhard, Martin, Matthias, Warnke, Andreas, Trott, Götz-Eric
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Age Differences
Antipsychotic Agents - therapeutic use
Child
Childhood Onset Schizophrenia
Cross-Sectional Studies
Developmental Stages
Etiology
Female
Germany - epidemiology
Human
Humans
Incidence
Male
Patient Admission
Personality Development
Prognosis
Schizophrenia, Childhood - diagnosis
Schizophrenia, Childhood - drug therapy
Schizophrenia, Childhood - epidemiology
Sex Factors
Symptoms
Treatment Outcome
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Summary:Schizophrenic disorders in childhood are rare: 0.1-1 percent of all schizophrenic disorders manifest themselves before age 10, and 4 percent before age 15. There is, however, a remarkable increase in schizophrenia during adolescence. Age and developmental stage also influence symptoms, course, and outcome. The evidence for a male preponderance in the very early-onset group (< 14) does not apply for adolescents over age 14. The presence of positive and negative precursor symptoms can be demonstrated in child and adolescent schizophrenia before the first clinical manifestation leading to inpatient treatment. With regard to pharmacologic treatment, atypical neuroleptics such as clozapine can be used successfully. As to outcome, schizophrenic psychoses with early manifestation have a poor prognosis. The patients' premorbid personality also seems to be of great importance: A poor prognosis can be found in patients who were cognitively impaired, shy, introverted, and withdrawn before the beginning of their psychotic state.
ISSN:0586-7614
1745-1701
DOI:10.1093/schbul/20.4.727