Associations between depressive, suicidal, insomnic, and anxiety manifestations and the severity of psychopathological symptoms in schizophrenia

Objective: to identify associations of insomnic, depressive, suicidal, and anxiety manifestations with the severity of psychopathological symptoms in individuals with schizophrenia.

Materials and methods: a comparative cross-sectional study of 390 patients was conducted. The following scales were used: PANSS, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Calgary Depression Scale, Columbia Suicide Severity Scale, Hamilton Anxiety Scale. Statistical analysis was performed using the Mann–Whitney U-test and Spearman rank correlation coefficient.

Results: insomnia disorders were associated with symptoms P1, P3 and the total score on the positive symptoms subscale; depressive manifestations were associated with greater severity of all positive and negative symptoms except P4, P5, N5; anxious manifestations - with greater severity of symptoms P3, P6, and with lesser severity of symptoms N2, N3, N6; the intensity of suicidal thoughts intensity positively correlated with the severity of symptoms P3, P6, N4, as well as with the total score on the positive symptoms scale; A history of suicide attempt was associated with more severe symptoms of P1, P3, and P6.

Conclusion: insomnia, depressive, anxiety, and suicidal tendencies were associated with the severity of psychopathological symptoms in patients with paranoid schizophrenia, but the nature of the associations was heterogeneous. The severity of insomnia disorders was positively correlated with the severity of positive symptoms. Depressive symptoms, suicidal tendencies, and anxiety were associated with the severity of both positive and negative symptoms. 

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