Schizophrenia

What it means

A mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking. It is accompanied by significant social or occupational dysfunction. The onset of symptoms typically occurs in young adulthood, with a global lifetime prevalence of about 1%. This term is not a helpful parent term to describe abnormal experiences.

Positive symptoms, such as delusions and hallucinations (especially of voices), are common, and any Schneiderian first-rank symptoms are particularly indicative of the illness. Negative symptoms include social withdrawal, impairment of ego boundaries, and loss of energy and initiative. Schizophrenia is diagnosed only if symptoms persist for at least one month. The illness can spontaneously remit, run a course with infrequent or frequent relapses, or become chronic. The prognosis has improved with antipsychotic drugs and with vigorous psychological and social management and rehabilitation. The many causes include genetic factors, environmental stress, and various triggering factors.

In everyday care

Most people with this sign do not have a rare disease — it appears in common conditions far more often. These general reference pages cover the same topic:

Rare diseases that can present with this31

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category