Cognition remains one of the most critical features of the schizophrenia. A wide range of factors has been associated to neurocognition and, among these, sex and age of onset are two of the most consistently reported to influence the functional and cognitive outcome. This work aims to evaluate the effects of sex and age of onset and their interaction on cognition in 419 subjects with schizophrenia. Analyses of variance and analyses of covari-ance were performed to evaluate the effect of sex and age at onset on cognition. To model the possible interaction sex-onset on cognition, a separate slope regression analysis was performed. Analyses of variance showed sig-nificant differences between sexes for age and age at onset, both significantly higher among females, as well as for Executive Functions, with higher performance among males. When compared according to age at onset, late -onset patients performed better than both early-and intermediate-onset ones in Verbal Memory subtest, with a significant effect of length of illness. Moreover, early-onset patients showed a significantly lower IQ compared to both intermediate and late-onset ones, with no significant effect of length of illness. Finally, the separate slope regression revealed a significant interaction between sex and age at onset, with early-onset being associated to a worse global cognition only among male patients. Our finding of a significant sex-onset interaction effect on neurocognition sheds new light on the complex issue of cognitive heterogeneity in schizophrenia. Our data may help towards the development of personalized programs for preventive and rehabilitative purposes.

Modeling the interplay of age at onset and sex on cognition in Schizophrenia / Buonocore, Mariachiara; Bosia, Marta; Martini, Francesca; Bechi, Margherita; Spangaro, Marco; Agostoni, Giulia; Diddi, Olympia; Cocchi, Federica; Cuoco, Federica; Cavallaro, Roberto. - In: ASIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY. - ISSN 1876-2018. - 75:(2022), p. 103202. [Epub ahead of print] [10.1016/j.ajp.2022.103202]

Modeling the interplay of age at onset and sex on cognition in Schizophrenia

Bosia, Marta;Spangaro, Marco;Agostoni, Giulia;Cavallaro, Roberto
2022-01-01

Abstract

Cognition remains one of the most critical features of the schizophrenia. A wide range of factors has been associated to neurocognition and, among these, sex and age of onset are two of the most consistently reported to influence the functional and cognitive outcome. This work aims to evaluate the effects of sex and age of onset and their interaction on cognition in 419 subjects with schizophrenia. Analyses of variance and analyses of covari-ance were performed to evaluate the effect of sex and age at onset on cognition. To model the possible interaction sex-onset on cognition, a separate slope regression analysis was performed. Analyses of variance showed sig-nificant differences between sexes for age and age at onset, both significantly higher among females, as well as for Executive Functions, with higher performance among males. When compared according to age at onset, late -onset patients performed better than both early-and intermediate-onset ones in Verbal Memory subtest, with a significant effect of length of illness. Moreover, early-onset patients showed a significantly lower IQ compared to both intermediate and late-onset ones, with no significant effect of length of illness. Finally, the separate slope regression revealed a significant interaction between sex and age at onset, with early-onset being associated to a worse global cognition only among male patients. Our finding of a significant sex-onset interaction effect on neurocognition sheds new light on the complex issue of cognitive heterogeneity in schizophrenia. Our data may help towards the development of personalized programs for preventive and rehabilitative purposes.
2022
Gender
Late-onset schizophrenia
Neuropsychology
Personalized rehabilitation
Psychosis
Age of Onset
Cognition
Executive Function
Female
Humans
Male
Neuropsychological Tests
Schizophrenia
File in questo prodotto:
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11768/133772
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 3
  • Scopus 3
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 3
social impact