The critical period in patients with psychosis: "Duration of Untreated Psychosis" and social determinants

Abstract

Psychosis is a psychiatric disorder that can occur in different forms does not have a typical beginning. Psychotic disorders are amongst the mental illnesses which cause disability mostly. The main destructive effect of psychosis is seen especially in the first years of illness. Although this period was the most critical period for intervention, found that most of the patients have been without treatment for a long time. Many studies have indicated that the duration of untreated psychosis impacts significantly the severity of the disease, response to antipsychotic treatment, prognosis and social functioning. The another important aspect of duration of untreated psychosis, which is quite determinant on the disease, is the malleable and preventable factor with an effective intervention. The identification of the factors that cause delay in treatment which extends the duration of untreated psychosis and the development of interventional methods for these factors are promising as an scope that can positively change the course of psychotic disorders. Studies indicated that, duration of untreated psychosis has many psychosocial determiners such as the knowledge and attitude with respect to disease, the education level and the socioeconomical status of patient and family, stigmatization, access to healthcare service and family history of psychosis. In this study, it was aimed to assess the studies on the importance and determinants of duration of untreated psychosis.