Schizophreniform Disorder

DEFINITION

• A diagnosis characterized by symptoms of schizophrenia lasting greater than one month but less than the six months required for a diagnosis of schizophrenia[1]
  
  • Has become more formalized since its original coinage in 1939 to designate psychotic disorders with good outcomes[2] and remains in the DSM-V-TR under schizophrenia spectrum disorders[1] but is no longer included in the ICD system (was last in the 9th revision)
• Generally speaking, two groups of people carry this diagnosis:
  • Those with prior symptoms of schizophrenia that lasted between one and six months but have since resolved and do not subsequently require treatment ("true" schizophreniform disorder)
  • Those currently with symptoms of schizophrenia that have been persisting longer than a month but not yet six months ("provisional" schizophreniform disorder)
    • These individuals will go on to either: (1) recover (i.e. reveal themselves to have "true" schizophreniform disorder); (2) develop schizophrenia; or (3) develop another mental illness such as schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, or major depression.
• In practice, the timeline of early symptoms is often not obvious and is obtained through retrospective interview of the patient’s loved ones.
• It is important to note that relatively few studies have been conducted specifically to evaluate schizophreniform disorder and that its entity beyond provisional nomenclature in anticipation of determining a patient’s more durable diagnosis has been questioned by some investigators.[3][4][5][6]