Citation

Hayes JF, Osborn DP, Lundin A, Dalman C. J. Psychopharmacol. 2019; 33(4): 532-534.

Affiliation

Epidemiology of Psychiatric Conditions, Substance Use, and Social Environment, Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0269881119827883

PMID

30777499

Abstract

BACKGROUND:: There are questions about the risk-benefit balance of longer-term antipsychotic medication treatment following first episode psychosis, especially in relation to relapse because of dopamine supersensitivity following treatment cessation.

AIM:: The purpose of this study was to determine whether hospitalization rates in first episode psychosis patients are associated with length of initial oral antipsychotic medication exposure.

METHODS:: We examined psychiatric hospitalization rates in patients experiencing first episode of psychosis from the total population of Sweden between 1 January 2007-31 December 2016 ( n=7043). We categorised patients by the length of first antipsychotic treatment (<6 months, 6 months to <1 year, 1 year to <2 years, 2 years to <5 years and ⩾5 years).

RESULTS:: Compared to those treated for <6 months, individuals receiving oral antipsychotic medications for ⩾5 years had less than half the cumulative incidence of hospitalization at all times between 1-4 years after treatment cessation.

CONCLUSION:: We found no evidence that hospitalization rates increased with increasing baseline antipsychotic exposure.

Language: en

Keywords

Relapse; antipsychotic medication; first episode psychosis; hospitalization