Co-morbidity in Schizophrenia

• Comorbidity refers to the coexistence of two or more separate conditions or disorders at the same time. This adds to the difficulty of making valid and reliable diagnoses.
• It is common for someone with schizophrenia to also experience depression and/or OCD.
• Depression shares some of the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, this means there is symptom overlap.
• Buckley et al (2008) reported that around 50% of patients with schizophrenia also had depression.
• Jeste et al (1996) claim that patients with comorbid symptoms are in the majority and yet are left out of many clinical studies.
• The high levels of comorbid symptoms seen in schizophrenia suggest it is not a clearly defined mental illness and there can be problems with the validity of the diagnosis.
• DSM-5 has moved schizophrenia to a spectrum like disorder as patients present with varying degrees from mild to severe.
• Comorbidity is a limitation with the diagnosis of schizophrenia. If disorders occur together this calls into question the validity of their individual diagnosis.
• Schizophrenia is commonly diagnosed with other mental health conditions. This is a problem for the classification because it means schizophrenia may not exist as a distinct condition.
• Mood disorders, such as depression or bipolar disorder, are often seen alongside schizophrenia.
• Anxiety disorders, such as generalised anxiety disorder or panic disorder, can co-occur with schizophrenia.
• Substance use disorders, such as alcohol or drug abuse, are commonly co-morbid with schizophrenia.