Are there valid subtypes of schizophrenia? A grade of membership analysis

Psychopathology
Edith Pomarol-ClotetP J McKenna

Abstract

Cluster analysis has had limited success in establishing whether there are subtypes of schizophrenia. Grade of membership (GoM) analysis is a multivariate statistical technique which has advantages when, as in schizophrenia, individuals conforming to pure types are uncommon and mixed forms are frequent. GoM analysis was applied to 118 chronic schizophrenic patients. The patients were of all clinical subtypes, including 13 with simple schizophrenia. Both current and 'lifetime' symptoms were assessed, and two different rating systems were used. Specifying 3 pure types resulted in robust findings across analyses. One pure type corresponded to paranoid schizophrenia, one to simple schizophrenia and the third combined elements of hebephrenic and catatonic schizophrenia. Specifying 4 pure types split the original 3 pure types in ways which were not clinically intuitive. GoM analysis divides schizophrenia into subtypes along conventional lines, with the proviso that hebephrenic and catatonic schizophrenic patients are not separable, at least in the chronic stage of the illness.

Citations

Jul 24, 2014·Psychological Medicine·E Manrique-GarciaP Allebeck
Aug 3, 2012·Revista de psiquiatrí́a y salud mental·José Martínez SerranoJuana González Matás
Jul 1, 2011·Journal of Health Economics·Gerard J van den BergFrance Portrait
Apr 16, 2016·Genetic Epidemiology·Lue Ping ZhaoUNKNOWN Better Diabetes Diagnosis Study Group
Aug 22, 2017·Frontiers in Public Health·William A SatarianoElizabeth A Phelan
Aug 28, 2021·Revista colombiana de psiquiatría·Daniel R Martínez

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Catatonia is a psychomotor symptom in which patients present with stupor, although catatonic excitement may also present at the other end of the spectrum. Catatonia has been historically associated with schizophrenia although it is also associated with other neuropsychiatric disorders. Find the latest research on catatonic schizophrenia here.