AJGP
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ALL ISSUES SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a Colleague
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Riecher-Rössler, A.
Right arrow Articles by Reinhard, I.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Riecher-Rössler, A.
Right arrow Articles by Reinhard, I.
Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 11:595-604, December 2003
© 2003 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry

Regular Article

Late-Onset Schizophrenia Versus Paranoid Psychoses

A Valid Diagnostic Distinction?

Anita Riecher-Rössler, M.D., Heinz Häfner, M.D., Wiltrud Häfner-Ranabauer, Ph.D., Walter Löffler, Ph.D., and Iris Reinhard, M.Sc.

Received April 7, 2003; revised May 30, 2003; accepted August 5, 2003. From the University Psychiatric Outpatient Department, Basel, Switzerland. Send correspondence to Dr. Anita Riecher-Rössler, University Psychiatric Outpatient Department, Petersgraben 4, CH-4031 Basel, Switzerland. e-mail: ariecher{at}uhbs.ch

Objective: The authors tested the validity of the diagnostic distinction between schizophrenia and delusional disorder of late onset. Methods: Authors examined hospital case registers. Results: A clear distinction between these diagnostic groups is not possible, irrespective of whether a descriptive, predictive, or construct-based approach is taken. There is a relatively high overlap between the two groups. Clinical diagnosis seems to be influenced more by the age of the patients than by symptomatology. Furthermore, the slight differences observed in symptomatology can partly be explained by "pathoplastic" factors that influence symptomatology, such as age, sex, previous treatment, or somatic comorbidity. Conclusion: Since clear and etiologically meaningful differentiation between these diagnostic categories is not possible, they should not be separated by artificial diagnostic criteria for research purposes. Rather, the whole "schizo-paranoid" spectrum should always be analyzed. As long as classification is based on differences in symptomatology, the influences of pathoplastic factors should be taken into account.

Key Words: Schizophrenia • Paranoia • Delusional Disorders






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ALL ISSUES SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2003 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry