Relationship of negative symptom severity with cognitive symptoms and functioning in subjects at ultra-high risk for psychosis.

Negative symptoms and cognition are related with functioning in schizophrenia. However, it is not clear whether they have a similar effect in individuals at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis. In this study, we aimed to explore relationship of negative symptoms with cognition and functioning cross-sectionally in people with UHR for psychosis. In total, 107 people participated in this study. We assessed negative symptoms with Scale for Negative Symptoms (SANS). We applied a cognitive battery including seven tests. We evaluated functioning by using Global Assessment of Functioning Scale and work/study status as an indicator of role functioning. SANS scores were correlated to global functioning cross-sectionally. SANS total score was correlated to cognitive test scores related to cognitive flexibility and attention. Only Trail Making Test B (TMT B) was negatively correlated to global functioning. SANS-affective blunting and SANS-avolition scores were independently related to global functioning. There was a significant indirect effect of the TMT B and composite attention scores on global functioning through negative symptoms indicating a complete mediation. Our findings suggest that negative symptoms, particularly avolition have an impact on functioning and the association of cognition with functioning was mediated by negative symptoms in UHR. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Citation

Alp Üçok, Nese Direk, Hatice Kaya, Nuran Çağlar, Uğur Çıkrıkçılı, Handan Noyan, Çağdaş Yokuşoğlu, Müge Devrim-Üçok. Relationship of negative symptom severity with cognitive symptoms and functioning in subjects at ultra-high risk for psychosis. Early intervention in psychiatry. 2021 Aug;15(4):966-974

Mesh Tags

PMID: 32945138

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