Psychotropic Drug Treatment, Clinical Characteristics and Cognitive Processing Speed in Patients with Schizophrenia: Results from the ELAN Study

Abstract

Introduction:

Psychotropic drug combinations (PDC) are common in the treatment of patients with schizophrenia but there is little research regarding the effects of PDC on cognition.

Objective:

The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of antipsychotic monotherapy and various types of PDC on cognitive processing speed (CPS).

Methods:

ELAN is a 24-month multi-site prospective observational controlled trial following up 374 patients with schizophrenia under routine treatment conditions following discharge from inpatient treatment. The propensity score method, multinomial logistic regression analyses and mixed effects regression models were used.

Results:

CPS correlated significantly with PANSS and GAF scores and improved over time in the monotherapy group. Negative effects of some PDC (antipsychotics + tranquilizers/antipsychotics + at least 2 other psychopharmacological subclasses, sedative/anticholinergic drugs/high adjusted antipsychotic dose) lost significance after controlling for clinical characteristics.

Discussion:

Indications for PDC should be examined with care although, in the present study, effects on cognition were small.

Key words

schizophrenia - schizoaffective disorder - medication, polypharmacy - psychotropic drug ­combinations - cognition - longitudinal study

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