Twenty year multi-follow-up of different types of hallucinations in schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, and depression.
Vina M Goghari, Martin Harrow
Schizophrenia Research October 2016 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2016.06.027 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Longitudinal observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 150 |
| Population | Young patients hospitalized at index with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, or unipolar depression |
| Duration | 20-year follow-up |
| Topics | Philosophy of mind Depression |
| Keywords | Affective psychosis Hallucinations Longitudinal study Positive symptoms Recovery |
| Key findings | Schizophrenia and schizoaffective patients showed more auditory and visual hallucinations than bipolar and depression patients at index hospitalization, but over 20 years schizophrenia patients had higher rates than all other groups and schizoaffective patients no longer differed from bipolar patients. Visual hallucinations differentiated groups more than auditory hallucinations, and early auditory hallucinations were associated with reduced likelihood of later recovery. |
Abstract
Hallucinations are a salient feature of both psychotic and mood disorders. Currently there is a call for more research on the phenomenology of different forms of hallucinations, in a broader array of disorders, to further both theoretical knowledge and clinical utility. We investigated auditory, visual, and olfactory hallucinations at index hospitalization and auditory and visual hallucinations prospectively for 20years in 150 young patients, namely 51 schizophrenia, 25 schizoaffective, 28 bipolar, and 79 unipolar depression. For the index hospitalization, the data showed schizophrenia and schizoaffective patients had a greater rate of auditory and visual hallucinations than bipolar and depression patients. However, over the longitudinal trajectory of their illness, a greater percentage of schizophrenia patients had auditory and visual hallucinations than schizoaffective patients, as well as bipolar and depression patients. Also, in contrast to the initial period, schizoaffective patients did not differentiate themselves over the follow-up period from bipolar patients. Bipolar and depression patients did not significantly differ at index hospitalization or at follow-up. We found visual hallucinations differentiated the groups to a greater degree over the 20year course than did auditory hallucinations. These findings suggest the longitudinal course is more important for differentiating schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, whereas the initial years may be more useful to differentiate schizoaffective disorder from bipolar disorder. Furthermore, we found that the early presence of auditory hallucinations was associated with a reduced likelihood for a future period of recovery. No olfactory hallucinations were present at the index hospitalization in any patients. Over the course of 20years, a minority of schizophrenia patients presented with olfactory hallucinations, and very few schizoaffective and bipolar patients presented with olfactory hallucinations. This study underscores the importance of the longitudinal course of symptoms to understand the relationship between related disorders and recovery.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on depression, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metacognitive awareness and prevention of relapse in depression: Empirical evidence. Residually depressed patients and nondepressed controls; recovered depressed patients | 2002 | Observational cohort with intervention components | |
| Psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression: fMRI-measured brain mechanisms. Patients with treatment-resistant depression | 2017 | Observational cohort | n = 19 |
| Antidepressant effects of a single dose of ayahuasca in patients with recurrent depression: a preliminary report Patients with a depressive disorder | 2015 | Observational study | |
| Concomitant BDNF and sleep slow wave changes indicate ketamine-induced plasticity in major depressive disorder Patients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder | 2012 | Observational cohort | n = 30 |
| Altered peripheral immune profiles in treatment-resistant depression: response to ketamine and prediction of treatment outcome Healthy controls and actively depressed patients with treatment-resistant depression... | 2017 | Observational cohort | n = 59 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- Painting psychosis: an empirical investigation of the self-portraits of Edvard Munch. Frontiers in Psychiatry 2025
- Measurement invariance between online and paper-and-pencil formats of the Launay-Slade Hallucinations scale-extended (LSHS-E) in the Chilean population: Invariance between LSHS-E formats. Current Psychology January 17, 2022
- Characterizing the experience of auditory verbal hallucinations and accompanying delusions in individuals with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder: A systematic review. Bipolar Disorders September 1, 2017