Early intervention can have clinical benefits that last at least 20 years after first experiencing psychosis, says an analysis of 171 people who presented to two mental health facilities in Dublin between 1995 and 1999.
New Irish research has found that delays in treating psychosis can worsen symptoms, functioning and quality of life, lasting for at least 20 years after a patient first experiences the illness.
The study, led by researchers from the DETECT Early Intervention in Psychosis Service and RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, has received international attention and was published last month in The American Journal of Psychiatry.
This longitudinal study suggests that the benefits of early detection and intervention for psychosis last for at least twenty years. The authors found that while the associations between delayed treatment and worse long-term outcomes may vary depending on which outcome is measured, they persist over decades in a way that cannot be explained by other factors.
Although the importance of early detection and treatment of physical health problems, such as cancer and heart disease, is now seen as ‘conventional wisdom’, this research indicates that this is also the case for the mental health condition psychosis.
The study, one of the longest running studies of its kind conducted worldwide, involved 171 people who first presented with psychosis at the Cluain Mhuire Mental Health Service or St John of God Hospital in Dublin between 1995 and 1999.
They were then studied again six months, four, eight, twelve and twenty years later, assessing participants’ psychotic symptoms, functioning and quality of life at each time point.
The researchers found that people with longer treatment delays had worse outcomes 20 years later in terms of their symptoms (such as hallucinations and social withdrawal), functioning (such as employment status), and quality of life (such as having satisfying interpersonal relationships). .
It is estimated that one in a hundred Irish people will experience an episode of psychosis in their lifetime.
This study concludes that the longer someone experiences untreated psychosis, the worse their outcome is for at least twenty years after the initial diagnosis. It also highlights the importance of seeking help from mental health services, often through their GP, as soon as possible after people first experience the signs and symptoms of psychosis.
The research was conducted at the DETECT Early Intervention in Psychosis Service in collaboration with RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, and was supported by the St John of God Research Foundation through funding from the Health Research Board and the Stanley Medical Research Institute, USA.