Prolonged Methamphetamine-Induced Psychosis: Difference With Schizophrenia

The main objective of the present study was to compare the distribution of underlying factors such as neurological soft signs, obstetric complications, and family history of psychiatric disorders between two groups of schizophrenic patients and patients with prolonged methamphetamine-induced psychosis. In a case-control study, 30 patients with prolonged methamphetamine-induced psychosis and 30 patients with schizophrenia were selected. Data were collected through a demographic questionnaire, the Buchanan and Heinrichs’ Neurological Evaluation Scale (NES), the Lewis-Murray’s Obstetric Complications Scale (LMOCS), and the Weissman’s Family History Screen (FHS). Mean scores of the neurological soft signs (±SD) in the two groups of schizophrenic patients and patients with prolonged methamphetamine-induced psychosis were 15.7±8.7 and 11.7±6.2, respectively (P=0.040), and a significant difference was observed in the sensory integration between the two groups (P=0.022). Obstetric complications revealed similar distributions in the two groups. Patients with prolonged methamphetamine-induced psychosis reported higher prevalence of alcohol and other substances use disorders (P=0.003 and P=0.001, respectively) in their close relatives; however, the distributions of other disorders were not statistically different between the two groups’ close relatives. Similarities and differences in certain aspects were observed between the two groups, suggesting susceptibility for psychosis in patients with prolonged methamphetamine-induced psychosis; yet we found diversities that distinguish the two disorders.