Classifactions and diagnosis of schizophrenia

what is schizophrenia?

A serious mental disorder that is characterised by disruption in thought processes and perceptions

what are the two major classification systems use of this diagnosed schizophrenia And what’s the difference?

ICD 10 AND DSM 5

DSM five – positive symptoms – delusions, hallucinations or speech disorganisation must be present

Whereas two or more negative symptoms are sufficient for the ICD

what problems would this cause?

if an individual with negative symptoms goes to a psychiatrist who uses the ICD 10 they would be likely To get a SZ diagnosis, but they went to a psychiatrist he uses the DSM five they likely would not

what are positive symptoms?

can be described as pathological excess most commonly associated with type one

E.g. delusions of control, Persecution

Hallucinations and inappropriate effects

what are negative symptoms?

Can be described as pathological deficit more commonly associated with type two

Restricted effect

Social withdrawal

alogia

avolition

what are some issues with the diagnosis and classification of schizophrenia?

Reliability level of agreement on the diagnosis by different psychiatrist across time and cultures stability of diagnosis overtime given no change in symptoms

what are some issues with the diagnosis and classification of schizophrenia?

validity – the extent of which schizophrenia is a unique syndrome with characteristics signs and symptoms and is measured as just that. So all assessment systems arrive at the same diagnosis every time.

what are some issues with the diagnosis and classification of schizophrenia?

comorbidity – two or more conditions occur Together in the same person at the same time, e.g. diabetes is often comorbid with heart disease. If conditions are often comorbid than a question the validity of the diagnosis as it may suggest that it is one incorrectly diagnosed condition. buckley et al SZ comorbid with PTSD 29% depression 50%

what are some issues with the diagnosis and classification of schizophrenia?

Symptom overlap – lots of overlap between SZ symptoms and other disorders e.g. bipolar also involves and negative symptoms.

Again causes issue for diagnosis and classification as patient may get SZ diagnosis using ICD but bipolar using DSM

what are the overall trends in gender and culture?

Gender – more likely to get diagnosed possibly due to women being better and managing symptoms/masking them

Culture – people from African-American/Afro Caribbean origin are more likely to be diagnosed due to Tobias from psychiatrist