Abstract: Background: Prevention of symptom relapse and promotion of functional recovery are the two main goals of early intervention following a first episode of non-affective psychosis (FEP). The identification of patterns of recovery is important in developing and implementing recovery focused interventions at set time interval.
Method: Patterns of recovery course, in terms of symptomatic and functional remission, were explored at 1 and 3-year follow-up in a sample of 373 consecutive FEP patients. Relapses during this period were considered.
Results: Four patterns of recovery course were defined: good stable (26%), good unstable (21%), poor unstable (10%), poor stable (43%). Those who met criteria for good stable recovery were more likely have less severe baseline negative symptoms (OR?=?2.092; 95% CI?=?0.99?4.419) and to not be diagnosed with schizophrenia (OR?=?2.242; 95% CI?=?1.015?4.954). Short DUP (OR?=?2.152; 95% CI?=?0.879?5.27) and low premorbid IQ (OR?=?2.281; 95% CI?=?0.954?5.457) increased the likelihood of good unstable recovery. Less severe baseline negative symptoms (OR?=?3.851; 95% CI?=?1.422?10.435) and single status (OR?=?4.307; 95% CI?=?1.014?18.293) increased the likelihood of a poor unstable recovery. Poor unstable pattern was significantly associated with a high relapse rate (73%).
Conclusions: Our results shed light on identifying different recovery patterns in FEP. Despite evidence for early intervention effectiveness, we should explore ways to prevent relapse and improve long-term recovery, particularly in reference to the role of timing in the design of interventions.
