Prognosis in schizophrenia. A ten-year follow-up of first admissions.

Eighty-eight of 92 first admission schizophrenics from 1963, being an incidence by first admission cohort, were followed up between 1974 and 1975. Fifty-eight percent were reported as showing no social or intellectural deficit, and only 8% were unremitting institutionalized, with 51% being considered as having normal economic productivity, and 69% with a good or fair social adjustment. Despite difficulties in comparison, birth, marriage, and divorce rates appear to be not very different from those for the general population, although the percentage of married patients is lower. Deaths would seem greater than expected. Possible reasons for the improved prognosis in schizophrenia are considered to be short initial hospitalization, almost universal use of phenothiazines, use of developing community services (social and psychiatric), and generally good econimic conditions.