Methodologic and Clinical Aspects of the Prognosis of Schizophrenia

Since schizophrenia is perhaps the most debilitating mental illness, it is important to know the prognosis factors. It has long been believed that outcome of schizophrenia is almost inevitably poor. In this article the author discusses the methodologic problems of prognostic stud­ies and presents an up-to-date list of prognos­tic factors. An acute onset and good premorbid functioning predict a favourable outcome while an insidious onset and negative symptoms pre­dict a poor outcome. The prognosis is slightly more favourable in women.