Relationship between different PANSS cognitive factors and cognition assessed with MCCB in patients with first psychotic episode of schizophrenia

TL;DR

This study examines how two cognitive factors from the PANSS scale correlate with cognitive test results in patients with first-episode schizophrenia.

Contribution

The study compares Marder and Wallwork cognitive factors with MCCB assessments in first-episode schizophrenia patients.

Findings

Both PANSS cognitive factors moderately correlate with MCCB domains like speed of processing and working memory.

Weaker or non-significant correlations were found for visual learning and social cognition.

Marder and Wallwork factors showed similar patterns of correlation with MCCB scores.

Abstract

The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) has been used as a universal instrument for clinical assessment of psychopathology in schizophrenia. Different studies have analyzed the factorial structure of this scale and have suggested a five-factor model: positive, negative, excited, depressive, and cognitive/disorganized factors. Two of the most used models are the Marder´s solution and the Wallwork´s one.

The aim of this work was to study the correlations of the two cognitive factors (Marder and Wallwork) with a cognitive assessment performed with a standard cognitive battery, in a sample of patients with first psychotic episode of schizophrenia.

Seventy four patients with first psychotic episode of schizophrenia (26.9, SD:7.8 years old; 70.3% male) were included. The cognitive assessment was performed with the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB). The MCCB present seven cognitive domains: Speed of processing, Working memory, Attention/Vigilance, Verbal Learning, Visual Learning, Reasoning and Problem Solving, and Social cognition). Pearson correlations were performed between MCCB scores and Marder´s PANSS cognitive factor (P2, N5, G5, G10, G11, G13, G15) and Wallwork´s one (P2, N5, G11).

Correlation between MCCB scores and cognitive factors of Marder and Wallwork can be seen in the table.Marder´s cognitive factorWallwork´s cognitive factorSpeed of processingr = -0.461; p<0.001r = -0.455; p<0.001Attention/Vigilancer = -0.414; p<0.001r = -0.415; p<0.001Working memoryr = -0.449; p<0.001r = -0.468; p<0.001Verbal Learningr = -0.511; p<0.001r = -0.405; p<0.001Visual Learningr = -0.252; p=0.024r = -0.254; p=0.029Reasoning and Problem Solvingr = -0.244; p=0.036r = -0.272; p=0.019Social cognitionr = -0.268; p=0.024r = -0.202; p=0.091

Both PANSS cognition factors show a moderate correlations with Speed of processing, Working memory, Attention/Vigilance and Verbal Learning assessed by MCCB. More discrete correlations were found with Visual Learning, Reasoning and Problem Solving, and with Social cognition (in fact, non-significant correlation with Wallwork´s cognitive factor was found).

Acknowledgements. This study has been funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) through the project PI19/00766 and co-funded by the European Union.

None Declared

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