Pre-onset subthreshold psychotic symptoms are associated with differential treatment delays before a first episode of psychosis: Initial evidence and implications

Help-seeking and treatment delays are increasingly critical areas of study in mental health services. The duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), or the time between illness onset and initiation of treatment, is a predictor of symptom remission and functioning for a first episode of psychosis (FEP)....

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Schizophrenia research Vol. 264; pp. 549 - 556
Main Authors:	McIlwaine, S.V., Mughal, S., Ferrari, M., Rosengard, R., Malla, A., Iyer, S., Lepage, M., Joober, R., Shah, J.L.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01-02-2024
Subjects:	Duration of untreated illness Duration of untreated psychosis First episode psychosis Help-seeking Prodrome Subthreshold psychosis Treatment delay First episode psychosis Treatment delay Duration of untreated illness Help-seeking Duration of untreated psychosis Prodrome Subthreshold psychosis
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Help-seeking and treatment delays are increasingly critical areas of study in mental health services. The duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), or the time between illness onset and initiation of treatment, is a predictor of symptom remission and functioning for a first episode of psychosis (FEP). The World Health Organization recommends that specialized treatment for psychosis be initiated within the first three months of FEP onset. As a result, research has focused on factors that are associated with threshold-level DUP, while the experience of subthreshold psychotic symptoms (STPS) prior to a FEP may also complicate and present barriers to accessing care for young people. We therefore examine the possibility that STPS can impact DUP and its components. Using a follow-back cross-sectional design, we sought to describe duration of untreated illness, length of prodrome, DUP, help-seeking delay, referral delay, and number of help-seeking contacts among FEP patients who did and did not have STPS prior to psychosis onset. We found that patients who experienced STPS had a longer median duration of untreated illness, prodrome length, DUP, and help-seeking delay compared to patients who did not have such symptoms. Referral delay did not differ substantially between the two groups. Importantly, treatment delays were extremely lengthy for many participants. Pre-onset STPS are associated with help-seeking delays along the pathway to care even during a FEP. Examining early signs and symptoms may help to improve and tailor interventions aimed at reducing treatment delays and ultimately providing timely care when the need arises.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0920-9964 1573-2509
DOI:	10.1016/j.schres.2024.01.036