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Many patients with schizophrenia suffer chronic impairment, persistent psychotic symptoms, and impairments in social, vocational and cognitive functioning; lifetime rates of suicide in this population are elevated. Clinicians are eager to discover interventions that reduce these disease burdens.
In this study, 281 patients in Scandinavia with a first episode of nonaffective psychosis (age range, 18–65) entered a 2-year treatment program consisting of antipsychotic medication, supportive psychotherapy, and family group meetings. There were 141 patients living in areas with early-detection programs (duration of untreated psychosis: early-detection group, 5 weeks; regular-detection group, 13 weeks). At previous follow-ups at 1, 2, and 5 years, …