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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Psychopathology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1521366

Basic Self-Disorders May Play a Role in the Development of Depression in Schizophrenia: A Seven-Year Follow-Up Study

Provisionally accepted
Elisabeth Haug Elisabeth Haug 1*Merete Glenne Øie Merete Glenne Øie 1,2Ingrid Hartveit Svendsen Ingrid Hartveit Svendsen 1,3Paul Møller Paul Møller 4Barnaby Nelson Barnaby Nelson 5,6Ingrid Melle Ingrid Melle 2,7
  • 1 Innlandet Hospital Trust, Brumunddal, Norway
  • 2 University of Oslo, Oslo, Oslo, Norway
  • 3 Norwegian University of Science and Technology Gjøvik, Gjøvik, Norway
  • 4 Vestre Viken Hospital Trust, Drammen, Norway
  • 5 University College, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
  • 6 Orygen Youth Health, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
  • 7 Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Nordland, Norway

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Depression is the most common co-morbid psychiatric disorder in patients with schizophrenia and has a negative effect on functional outcomes and quality of life. There are several possible pathways leading to depressive symptoms in schizophrenia. Self-disorders are disturbances in the deepest, pre-reflective level of the self and are suggested to be core features of schizophrenia. The relationship between self-disorders, and depressive symptoms has only been studied to a limited extent, and there are no longitudinal studies. This study aimed to explore the relationship between self-disorders at baseline and the development of depression over the follow-up period. Methods: Self-disorders were examined with the Examination of Anomalous Self-Experience (EASE) instrument in 31 patients with schizophrenia during their first treatment. Seven years later we measured the total number of depressive episodes since the start of treatment Results: We found a clear association between self-disorders at baseline and the total number of depressive episodes over the follow-up period. Discussion Self-disorders may play a role in the development of depression in schizophrenia. This may have implications for therapeutic approaches targeting a condition that is characterized by considerable suffering and an elevated risk of suicide.

    Keywords: Schizophrenia, Depression, Self-disorders, psychosis, follow-up,

    Received: 01 Nov 2024; Accepted: 16 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Haug, Øie, Svendsen, Møller, Nelson and Melle. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Elisabeth Haug, Innlandet Hospital Trust, Brumunddal, Norway

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.