Long-term course of schizoaffective disorders. Part II: Length of cycles, episodes, and intervals.

Length of cycles, intervals, and episodes of 72 schizoaffective patients were investigated (duration of the follow-up means = 25.6 years, minimum 10, maximum 59 years). The average cycle length (time between beginning of an episode and next relapse) was found to be 37.5 months (median). Patients with a schizodepressive initial episode, unipolar course, and without precipitating factors relapsed much later than patients with schizomanic onset, bipolar course, and precipitating factors. The older the patient at onset the shorter the first cycle. The length of cycle decreased with increasing cycle number. Patients with schizodepressive onset, asthenic personality, and monomorphous course stayed in hospital longer or needed longer inpatient-like treatment than others. Length of cycles and intervals were characterized by an extraordinary intraindividual and interindividual variation.