Patterns of symptoms in patients with schizophrenia

The purpose of this study was to determine the factor structure of OPCRIT psychotic items and its association with gender, age of onset and illness course in schizophrenia. A total of 108 patients with the diagnosis of schizophrenia (DSM-III-R), were assessed using the DIGS, and the OPCRIT checklist was completed on a lifetime basis. Twenty-six psychotic symptoms of the OPCRIT were selected and a principal component analysis with varimax rotation was performed. Two factors were extracted as determined by the screen test. Factor 1 labeled "paranoid" was composed of delusions (were these predominantly paranoid delusions or delusions in general) and hallucinations. Items loading on Factor 2 (non-paranoid) were mainly negative symptoms. No significant associations were found between each factor and age of onset. Statistically significant associations were found between Factor 1 and female sex (p=.015); and Factor 2 with male sex (p=.000) and a worse illness course (p=.016), as measured by ANOVA. Defining these factors or phenotypes might be useful in further genetic studies.