The aims of this study were to investigate experienced stigma and discrimination and their associated factors in people with schizophrenia who live in the community in Guangzhou, China. A total of 384 people with schizophrenia were randomly recruited from four districts of Guangzhou and completed the scales and questionnaires: Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness scale (ISMI), Self-Esteem Scale (SES), Discrimination and Stigma Scale (DISC-12), Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), PANSS negative scale (PANSS-N), Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) and Schizophrenia Quality of Life Scale (SQLS). Insight and medication compliance were evaluated by psychiatrists. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and multivariable linear regression. We found a significant positive correlation between BPRS score and PANSS-N score, GAF score was significantly negative correlated with SQLS score, Insight score was significantly negative correlated with medication compliance score, ISMI score was significantly positive correlated with SES score and experienced discrimination score. Multivariable linear regression found SQLS, SES and experienced discrimination were the main independent variables of ISMI and experienced discrimination was the most important factor of ISMI. Our findings suggest that people with schizophrenia often experienced stigma and discrimination in this Chinese population, and more anti-stigma interventions should be provided.

BackgroundDeficit schizophrenia (DS) has been proposed as a pathophysiologically distinct subgroup within schizophrenia. Earlier studies focusing on neurocognitive function of DS patients have yielded inconsistent findings ranging from substantial deficits to no significant difference relative to non-deficit schizophrenia patients (NDS). The present study investigated the severity and characteristic patterns of neurocognitive impairments in DS and NDS patients and their relationships with clinical variables.MethodsAttention, ideation fluency, cognitive flexibility and visuospatial memory function were assessed in 40 DS patients, 57 NDS patients, and 52 healthy controls by a comprehensive neuropsychological battery.ResultsBoth schizophrenia subgroups had overall more severe cognitive impairments than controls while DS performed worse on every neuropsychological measure except the Stroop interference than the NDS patients with age and education as the covariates. Profile analysis found significantly different patterns of cognitive profiles between two patients group mainly due to their differences in attention and cognitive flexibility functions. Age, education, illness duration and negative symptoms were found to have the correlations with cognitive impairments in the NDS group, while only age and the negative symptoms were correlated with the cognitive impairments in the DS group. Multiple regression analyses revealed that sustained attention and cognitive flexibility were the core impaired cognitive domains mediating other cognitive functions in DS and NDS patients respectively.ConclusionsDS patients exemplified worse in almost all cognitive domains than NDS patients. Sustained attention and cognitive flexibility might be the key impaired cognitive domains for DS and NDS patients respectively. The present study suggested the DS as a specific subgroup of schizophrenia.

IGT occurs with greater frequency in FEDN schizophrenia, and shows association with demographic and anthropometric parameters, as well as with clinical symptoms but minimally with cognitive impairment during the early course of the disorder.