Community transition at younger ages contributes to good cognitive function outcomes in long-term hospitalized patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder: A 15-year follow-up study with group-based trajectory modeling.

AIM: Cognitive dysfunction is a core symptom of schizophrenia spectrum disorder, but the reported long-term cognitive outcomes are heterogeneous. This study aimed to elucidate the long-term trajectories of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder who transitioned to community dwelling with integrated care, and to identify predictors of successful community reintegration. METHODS: After the closure of a psychiatric hospital, 78 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder (mean age: 54.6 years) were transferred to the community. We assessed patients' cognitive function over 15 years with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and analyzed the scores every 3 years. Forty-four patients completed all assessments. RESULTS: The mean MMSE score at discharge was 25.8, which changed to 26.8 after 3 years and 25.3 after 6 years. After 12 and 15 years, it had decreased significantly to 23.3 and 23.0, respectively. Group-based trajectory modeling identified two groups of patients: a 'poor-outcome' group (63.4%), showing a decline in scores after maintaining post-discharge levels for several years, and a 'good-outcome' group (36.6%), maintaining post-discharge scores after showing improved scores. CONCLUSION: Considering the significant difference in age between the aforementioned groups (P = 0.040), we suggest that community transitions at younger ages contribute to better cognitive function and adaptation to community life. Even middle-aged and elderly patients with chronic schizophrenia spectrum disorder showed improved or maintained cognitive function at least 3 years after discharge, and the good-outcome group maintained cognitive function over 15 years. Improvements were dominated primarily by age at discharge, with cognitive function being maintained longer in patients in the good-outcome group.

Successful aging in individuals with schizophrenia dwelling in the community: a study on attitudes toward aging and preparing behavior for old age.

AIM: 'Successful aging' in individuals with schizophrenia has been attracting attention. We examined two forward-looking factors of successful aging among schizophrenia patients: 'attitude toward aging' and 'preparing behavior for old age'. METHODS: Fifty-seven middle-aged and elderly schizophrenia patients with successful aging were identified using the Attitude toward Aging Scale, the Preparing Behavior for Old Age Scale, and assessments of their cognitive function, psychiatric symptoms, social functioning and quality of life. A multiple regression analysis was used to detect determinants of attitude toward aging/preparing behavior for old age at that time ('present': community dwelling). We also analyzed predictors of successful aging using demographic/clinical data assessed 3 years previously ('past': residential care). RESULTS: The multiple regression analysis revealed that quality of life was a significant determinant: a higher quality of life was related to a more positive attitude toward aging and less active preparing behavior. The significant predictors of preparing behavior were quality of life and the length of the hospital stay: a longer hospital stay and a higher quality of life were related to less active preparing behavior. CONCLUSION: Quality of life and the length of the hospital stay significantly contributed to forward-looking factors of successful aging. Avoiding long hospitalization periods for patients with schizophrenia may lead to more active preparing behavior, but the improvement of quality of life may not be a sufficient condition. As schizophrenia patients have an optimistic attitude and insufficient preparing behavior, support to prepare such individuals for old age is required as part of community-based psychiatric care strategies.

The Sasagawa project: a model for deinstitutionalisation in Japan.

Japanese psychiatric services are still typically hospital-based. The Sasagawa Project is the first systematized deinstitutionalization project in Japan that aims to make the transition from hospital to residential living while ensuring both the quality and continuity of care for the patients. Seventy-eight (51 males) patients (mean age 54.6) with chronic schizophrenia, who were considered appropriate for discharge received continuous cognitive behavioural therapies based on the Optimal Treatment Project manualised protocol, both before and after the hospital closure. During the first 12 months after the deinstitutionalisation was initiated on April 1st, 2002, ten people had incidents that interrupted their stay in the residential Sasagawa Village. A common criticism of many treatment outcome trials is that evaluation is focused on changes in clinical severity. In the Sasagawa project the transition appeared to have been smooth and relatively few incidents occurred could be related to the transition to a less intensive residential care. This project might be a useful model for effecting and monitoring transition from hospital to community care in Japan and other countries where such changes have been proposed.

Long-term course of cognitive function in chronically hospitalized patients with schizophrenia transitioning to community-based living.

Schizophrenia is associated with impairments in social interactions, and the conditions under which patients live and undergo treatment appear to have an important role in the course of the disease. However, the influences of care settings on the course of cognition remain controversial. The closure of psychiatric hospitals and the transition to community-based living is a golden opportunity to address this issue. The aims of the present study were to examine (1) the longitudinal course of cognition as well as the psychopathology and social functioning of schizophrenia patients who had been chronically hospitalized and then discharged, and (2) the key cognitive predictors of the functional outcome of such patients. Seventy-eight patients were transferred to the community after the closure of a psychiatric hospital. These patients were followed-up for 5 years and underwent annual examinations that included measures of cognition, psychiatric symptoms, and social functioning. Fifty-six patients completed all the assessments. Although consistent improvements were shown in the cognitive domains for attention and memory, the initial improvements in global cognition and processing speed ultimately began to decline. Symptoms and global functioning improved almost consistently over the course of the follow-up period. Stepwise multiple regressions revealed category fluency at baseline predicted social functioning at 5 years. However, this correlation was no longer significant when psychopathological variables were included as predictors. These results suggest that care settings affect the course of cognition, and addressing these conditions may lead to a certain degree of cognitive improvement even among schizophrenia patients who have been chronically institutionalized.

Deinstitutionalization of long-stay patients with schizophrenia: the 2-year social and clinical outcome of a comprehensive intervention program in Japan.

OBJECTIVES: The Sasagawa Project aimed to investigate the effects of deinstitutionalization and evidence-based strategies for the treatment of mental disorders among long-stay patients after their discharge from a mental hospital using a quasi-experimental longitudinal study design and to assess the patients' social and clinical outcomes over a 2-year post-discharge period. METHOD: Seventy-eight patients with schizophrenia were transferred to a community facility (Sasagawa Village) following the closure of Sasagawa Hospital in Koriyama in March 2002. The patients had undergone psychosocial training following the protocol outlined by the Optimal Treatment Project. All evaluations were performed prior to the patients' discharge and were repeated 12 and 24 months after discharge using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scales, the Global Assessment for Functioning, the Schedule for Assessment of Insight, the Rehabilitation Evaluation Hall and Baker Scale, the Social Functioning Scale, the Drug Attitude Inventory, and the Mini-Mental State Examination. RESULTS: During the 24-month study period, 18 residents had incidents that made their continued stay at Sasagawa Village impossible. Only four (5.1%) of these residents were readmitted to psychiatric wards because of exacerbations of their conditions. Twelve residents were admitted to hospital because of serious physical illnesses. The 60 residents who remained in the community facility for 2 years demonstrated significant improvements in not only their psychiatric symptoms, but also their social functioning, as evidenced by their scores for Social Activity, Speech Skills, Disturbed Speech, Self-Care and General Behaviour on the Rehabilitation Evaluation Hall and Baker Scale and Withdrawal, Independence (Performance), Independence (Competence), and Employment on the Social Functioning Scale. CONCLUSIONS: Careful planning that minimized social and clinical dislocation may have contributed to the successful transition from mental hospital to community facility assessed in this study. Patients with a long history of illness showed favourable outcomes with little clinical deterioration and various improvements in their psychiatric symptoms and social functioning.