Title: M108. Formal Thought Disorder in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Abstract:Background: Historically, formal thought disorder has been considered as one of the distinctive symptoms of schizophrenia. However, research in last few decades suggested that there is a considerable ...Background: Historically, formal thought disorder has been considered as one of the distinctive symptoms of schizophrenia. However, research in last few decades suggested that there is a considerable clinical and neurobiological overlap between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (BP). Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis of studies comparing positive (PTD) and negative formal thought disorder (NTD) in schizophrenia and BP. We included 19 studies comparing 715 schizophrenia and 474 BP patients. Results: In the acute inpatient samples, there was no significant difference in the severity of PTD (d = −0.07, CI = −0.22 to 0.09) between schizophrenia and BP. In stable patients, schizophrenia was associated with increased PTD compared to BP (d = 1.02, CI = 0.35–1.70). NTD was significantly more severe (d = 0.80, CI = 0.52–0.108) in schizophrenia compared to BP. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that PTD is a shared feature of both schizophrenia and BP but persistent PTD or NTD can distinguish subgroups of schizophrenia from BP and schizophrenia patients with better clinical outcomes.Read More