Schizophreniform Disorder related hospitalizations - a Big Data analysis of a national hospitalization database

Abstract

Schizophreniform disorder manifests itself with similar symptoms to schizophrenia, but it is distinguished from the latter by its shorter duration, varying between at least 1 month and 6 months. The aim of this study was to describe and analyse Schizophreniform disorder related hospitalizations in a national hospitalization database. We planned a retrospective observational study using a nationwide hospitalization database containing all hospitalizations registered in Portuguese mainland public hospitals from 2008 to 2015. Hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of schizophreniform disorder were selected based on International Classification of Diseases version 9, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) code of diagnosis 295.4x. Data regarding birth date, sex, residence address, diagnoses, length of stay (LoS), discharge status, and hospital charges were obtained. Comorbidities were analysed using the Charlson Index Score. Independent Sample T tests were performed to assess differences in continuous variables with a normal distribution and Mann-Whitney-U tests when no normal distribution was registered. In Portuguese mainland public hospitals, a total of 594 hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of schizophreniform disorder occurred during the 8-year study period. Most, 72.1% (n=428), were associated to male patients. Mean age at admission was 34.34 years in male patients and 40.19 years in female patients. The median LoS was 17.00 days and in-hospital mortality was 0.5% (n=3). Only 6.1% (n=36) of the hospitalization episodes had 1 or more registered comorbidities. 41 rehospitalizations were documented. We concluded that hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of schizophreniform disorder occur more frequently in young male patients. This is the first nationwide study analysing all hospitalizations due to this diagnosis in Portugal.