Early trauma and schizophrenia onset: preliminary results of an outpatient cohort in Brazil

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of early trauma in individuals with onset of schizophrenia at early ( 18 years) ages (EOP and AOP, respectively). and explore relationship between the onset of disease and clinical variables, including traumatic events, psychotic and mood symptoms. METHODS: Subjects with SZ (n=71) and EOP and AOP were compared for the history of psychological trauma, sexual abuse, and physical punishment through the Early Trauma Inventory Self Report - Short Form (ETISR-SF); a history of comorbidities and affective disorders through the Diagnostic Interview for Psychosis and Affective Disorders, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale and the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia was correlated with the disease duration. RESULTS: Early trauma was significantly associated with an early onset psychotic episode (r = -0.315, p < 0.01). General trauma and depressive symptoms in adulthood were also associated (r = 0.442, p < 0.01), as well as social anxiety symptoms and early trauma (r = 0.319, p < 0.01). ETISR-SF global scores and the psychical abuse item were significantly higher in the EOP than in the AOP. In the hierarchical regression, PANSS scores were better predicted by the duration of disease and age of first psychotic episode (R=0.303). CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the hypothesis that early trauma, including physical abuse, may play a relevant role in schizophrenia symptoms, such as an earlier psychotic occurrence, as well as features of other psychiatric disorders, such as greater severity of social anxiety and depression.