Neurocognitive deterioration in elderly chronic schizophrenia patients with and without PTSD

Neurocognitive deficits are associated with chronic schizophrenia and aging. We investigated whether elderly chronic schizophrenia inpatients who also suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have more severe cognitive impairment than elderly schizophrenia inpatients that do not. Fourteen schizophrenia inpatients that are Holocaust survivors and suffer from PTSD (survivor group) were compared with schizophrenia inpatients not exposed to the holocaust and without PTSD (comparison group) using neurocognitive assessments and psychiatric evaluation instruments. The survivors performed significantly worse on measures of processing speed and visual scanning, recognition memory, and general mental status, than the comparison group. Though nonsignificantly, the comparison group revealed better performance on tests that measured visuospatial perception, visuospatial planning and strategies, organizational and constructional skills. The survivor group displayed a greater severity of antipsychotic-induced side effects that were not associated with differences in cognitive performance. Comorbid PTSD may contribute to the severity of neurocognitive impairment in elderly chronic schizophrenia patients.