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The Natural History of the Course and Outcome of Schizophrenia

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Abstract

Understanding a disease’s pathological trajectory, by describing its progression and course, from the time an individual is exposed to causal factors until recovery or death, is just as important as aetiological understandings, when considering strategies to deal with disease prevention and control (Bhopal 2002; Wynne 1988). The natural history describes the uninterrupted trajectory in an individual of the biological and symptom development of a disorder from the moment it is initiated by exposure to its risk factors. However, there is very little information regarding the natural history of schizophrenia. Why is this? First, throughout history psychotic symptoms (with associated disability), i.e. the manifest cases, have resulted in institutional care or other medical, religious or cultural interventions, which influence the longitudinal progression, and certainly from the 1950s the vast majority of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia have received antipsychotic medication; therefore, our contemporary studies examining course are unlikely to reflect the true natural history.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, South Limburg Mental Health Research and Teaching Network, EURON, Maastricht University, 6200, PO Box 616 (DRT 10), Maastricht, MD, The Netherlands

    Judith Allardyce

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School of Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University Medical Centre, EURON, SEARCH, 6200, Maastricht, MD, The Netherlands

    Jim van Os

  3. Division of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, SE5 8AF, London, UK

    Jim van Os

Authors
  1. Judith Allardyce
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  2. Jim van Os
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Correspondence to Judith Allardyce .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fac. Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua Ovídio Pires Campos 785, Sao Paulo, 05403-903, Brazil

    Wagner F. Gattaz

  2. Fac. Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua Ovídio Pires Campos 785, Sao Paulo, 05403-903, Brazil

    Geraldo Busatto

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Allardyce, J., van Os, J. (2010). The Natural History of the Course and Outcome of Schizophrenia. In: Gattaz, W., Busatto, G. (eds) Advances in Schizophrenia Research 2009. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0913-8_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0913-8_3

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