Long-term course of negative symptom subdomains and relationship with outcome in patients with a psychotic disorder

Background The longitudinal course of the negative symptoms subdomains social amotivation (SA) and expressive deficits (ED) remains largely unknown. We investigated i) the longitudinal course of SA and ED subdomain scores, ii) whether subgroups based on the course of SA and ED subdomain scores could be identified, iii) whether baseline SA and ED subdomain scores were related to functioning and quality of life six years later and iv) the longitudinal relationship between subgroups and outcomes. Methods Measurements at baseline, three and six years from 1067 patients participating in the Genetic Risk and Outcome of Psychosis (GROUP) project were used. We applied mixed models analysis, regression analysis and trajectory analyses. Results SA and ED subdomain scores decreased over time. Within both…