Epidemiological study of schizophrenia in Spain with a focus on clinical, diagnostic and treatment trends along the year 2005 compared with those observed in ACE 2004 study;

617 psychiatrists from public and private Spanish clinics registered the first four patients with schizophrenia seen at their offices.

A total of 2,430 patients were entered in the study (70% males, 79% unmarried; median age, 37 years) of which, 1,113 had participated in the ACE 2004 study. Twelve percent of patients had a history of illegal drug abuse, 59% had paranoid schizophrenia, 11% had residual schizophrenia, and 6% showed undifferentiated schizophrenia, with a significant skewing to a greater proportion (71% vs. 47%) of the paranoid subtype among “de novo” patients. On inclusion, 9% were suffering an acute exacerbation, 72% showed a stable disorder, and 18% had active symptoms. Up to 96% of patients included “de novo” had been previously treated with antipsychotic drugs, mainly risperidone (27%), and olanzapine (17%). After inclusion in the study, the antipsychotic drugs most frequentely prescribed were aripiprazole (25%), risperidone (18%), olanzapine (10%), and amisulpiride (8%). Training for psychosocial functioning, and occupational therapy (about 15% each) were the most frequent non-pharmacologic interventions (44% of all patients) used before entering in the study.

Patients observed were predominantly unmarried young males with paranoid schizophrenia. The proportion of patients with this subtype was greater than that recorded for patients who previously participated in ACE 2004 study. A trend towards treatment with aripiprazole or risperidone was observed.