THE INFLUENCE OF NEUROCOGNITIVE DEFICITS AND SYMPTOMS ON QUALITY-OF-LIFE IN SCHIZOPHRENIA

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship betwe en neurocognitive deficits and self-reported quality of life in order to examine whether neurocognitive impairment interferes with any aspec ts of quality of life for patients with schizophrenia, Forty-two outpa tients with stable chronic schizophrenia were assessed for neurocognit ive deficits using a computerized test battery, and all patients compl eted a version of the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP) to assess their qu ality of life across a variety of domains, The neurocognitive assessme nt tests revealed significant deficits compared with normal control su bjects, particularly with respect to impaired iconic memory and fronta l functioning, Patients reported that their quality of life was compro mised, Despite the substantiation of marked neurocognitive deficits an d reduced quality of life, correlations between neurocognitive deficit s and quality of life were largely nonsignificant or very weak Symptom expression, however, particularly with regard to general psychopathol ogy on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), was significa ntly associated with quality of life, These results suggest that neuro cognitive deficits in schizophrenia, while often profound, appear to h ave little direct impact on the patient's perceived quality of life.