Twelve-Month Outcome After a First Hospitalization for Affective Psychosis

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Abstract
PSYCHOTIC AFFECTIVE disorders are recognized as distinct categories of affective illness in the recent editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders1-3 but have been rarely studied. Patients who experience psychosis during affective episodes may be at risk for poor outcome,4-7 particularly those with mood-incongruent psychotic symptoms.8,9 Since mood-incongruent psychosis has been traditionally associated with schizophrenia, these symptoms may identify a particularly severe form of affective illness more closely related to schizoaffective disorder than mood-congruent psychotic or nonpsychotic affective disorders.8,9 Unfortunately, as there are few prospective studies of affective psychosis, factors that affect the course of illness are not well defined.9