Functioning in community-dwelling patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders in rural Greece

Abstract

Background: There is a dearth of studies on functioning in patients with psychotic disorders in rural areas. Aim: The objective of this study was to assess functioning in a population-based sample of patients with psychotic disorders who live in rural, remote and deprived areas in Greece, and to explore the differences in functioning across ages. Methods: The sample consisted of 61 patients with psychotic disorders that were engaged to treatment with a community mental health service. The mean age of patients was 54.2 years, and the mean illness duration was 26.5 years. Results: A total of 23 patients (37.7%) had score in the Global Assessment of Functioning scale >60, and were rated as adequately functioning, and 18 patients (29.5%) had score in Clinical Global Impression scale-Schizophrenia ⩽3 and could be rated as mildly or minimally ill. Functioning was found to be inversely related to the patients’ symptomatology. No correlation with age was found. Conclusion: This study suggests that a large proportion of patients with psychotic disorders in rural Greece may achieve a satisfactory level of functioning in the long-term, across the whole age range despite the not completely remitted symptomatology. More research is needed to clarify the factors associated with rural residency that may account for patients’ functioning.