Prediction of hospitalization status and outcome in first-episode psychosis patients in Hong Kong : a 3-year follow-up study

Abstract

Hospitalization was one of the most important variables to study in patients of first-episode psychosis. Many literatures had done in the past to predict hospitalization in western countries, yet, little was done in Asian countries. In this study, the author aimed to examine the variables associated with hospitalization in seven hundred Chinese young people presented with first-episode psychosis to a specialized early intervention service in Hong Kong; the variables for examinations were mainly consisted of baseline characteristics and clinical variables such as socio-demographics, duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), age of onset, mode of onset, types of diagnosis and past history of suicide attempt. In comparison with patients who were admitted in the 3-year period EASY service, those who were never admitted during the service period were more likely to have higher educational attainment, older age at entry of the service, had insidious onset, longer DUP, unlikely to have suicide attempt history and were diagnosed with non-schizophrenia spectrum disorder. When comparing patients who were only admitted once during those three years with patients who were admitted more than once, patients admitted only once were more likely to be older age at entry of the service, have longer DUP and unlikely to have suicide attempt history. Regarding the 3-year outcome comparison between patients who were admitted voluntarily and compulsorily in the first month of the EASY program, voluntarily admitted patients were found to have more affective symptoms and shorter duration of initial admission; they were also found to have shorter duration of total hospitalization even after controlling patient’s age at onset, age at entry and length of initial admission. Results from the current study can shed some light on the predictors of hospitalization of first-episode psychosis patients in Hong Kong. Further researches are needed in order to have a more comprehensive picture regarding hospitalization.