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A meta-analysis comparing cognitive function across the mood/psychosis diagnostic spectrum

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 June 2020

Amy J. Lynham Open the ORCID record for Amy J. Lynham [Opens in a new window] ,
Siân L. Cleaver ,
Ian R. Jones Open the ORCID record for Ian R. Jones [Opens in a new window]  and
James T. R. Walters Open the ORCID record for James T. R. Walters [Opens in a new window]
Amy J. Lynham
Affiliation:
Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
Siân L. Cleaver
Affiliation:
Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
Ian R. Jones
Affiliation:
Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
James T. R. Walters*
Affiliation:
Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
*
Author for correspondence: James T. R. Walters, E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Background

The nature and degree of cognitive impairments in schizoaffective disorder is not well established. The aim of this meta-analysis was to characterise cognitive functioning in schizoaffective disorder and compare it with cognition in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Schizoaffective disorder was considered both as a single category and as its two diagnostic subtypes, bipolar and depressive disorder.

Methods

Following a thorough literature search (468 records identified), we included 31 studies with a total of 1685 participants with schizoaffective disorder, 3357 with schizophrenia and 1095 with bipolar disorder. Meta-analyses were conducted for seven cognitive variables comparing performance between participants with schizoaffective disorder and schizophrenia, and between schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder.

Results

Participants with schizoaffective disorder performed worse than those with bipolar disorder (g = −0.30) and better than those with schizophrenia (g = 0.17). Meta-analyses of the subtypes of schizoaffective disorder showed cognitive impairments in participants with the depressive subtype are closer in severity to those seen in participants with schizophrenia (g = 0.08), whereas those with the bipolar subtype were more impaired than those with bipolar disorder (g = −0.23) and less impaired than those with schizophrenia (g = 0.29). Participants with the depressive subtype had worse performance than those with the bipolar subtype but this was not significant (g = 0.25, p = 0.05).

Conclusion

Cognitive impairments increase in severity from bipolar disorder to schizoaffective disorder to schizophrenia. Differences between the subtypes of schizoaffective disorder suggest combining the subtypes of schizoaffective disorder may obscure a study's results and hamper efforts to understand the relationship between this disorder and schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

Keywords

Attentionmemoryreviewschizoaffective disordersubtypes
Type
Original Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 52 , Issue 2 , January 2022 , pp. 323 - 331
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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