EXPRESSED EMOTION AND THE COURSE OF SCHIZOPHRENIA IN JAPAN

Background. We examined whether expressed emotion (EE) influenced the course of schizophrenia in Japan. Method. We conducted a cohort study. Of 73 subjects with schizophrenia meeting the diagnostic criteria of ICD-9 or DSM-III-R, 52 participated in the study. The Camberwell Famil y interview was conducted to evaluate EE. The subjects had been follow ed up for nine months and psychiatrists who were blind to the EE statu s evaluated their symptoms with the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Re sults. The relapse rate in the high-EE group was 58% and that in the l ow-EE group 21% (P<0.01). Nine-month relapse risk ratio was 2.72 (95% Cl 1.24 to 5.97). Conclusion. In Japan, as elsewhere, EE is a good pre dictor of schizophrenic relapse.