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. 2022 Oct;272(7):1139-1155.
doi: 10.1007/s00406-022-01416-6. Epub 2022 May 28.

Cognitive impairment in people with schizophrenia: an umbrella review

Yohannes Gebreegziabhere  1   2 , Kassahun Habatmu  3 , Awoke Mihretu  4 , Matteo Cella  5 , Atalay Alem  4
Affiliations

Cognitive impairment in people with schizophrenia: an umbrella review

Yohannes Gebreegziabhere et al. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

Cognitive impairment is one of the core symptoms of schizophrenia. Quite a number of systematic reviews were published related to cognitive impairment in people with schizophrenia (PWS). This umbrella review, therefore, aimed at reviewing and synthesizing the findings of systematic reviews related to domains of cognition impaired and associated factors in PWS. We searched four electronic databases. Data related to domains, occurrence, and associated factors of cognitive impairment in PWS were extracted. The quality of all eligible systematic reviews was assessed using A MeaSurement Tool to Assess methodological quality of systematic Review (AMSTAR) tool. Results are summarized and presented in a narrative form. We identified 63 systematic reviews fulfilling the eligibility criteria. The included reviews showed that PWS had lower cognitive functioning compared to both healthy controls and people with affective disorders. Similar findings were reported among psychotropic free cases and people with first episode psychosis. Greater impairment of cognition was reported in processing speed, verbal memory, and working memory domains. Greater cognitive impairment was reported to be associated with worse functionality and poor insight. Cognitive impairment was also reported to be associated with childhood trauma and aggressive behaviour. According to our quality assessment, the majority of the reviews had moderate quality. We were able to find a good number of systematic reviews on cognitive impairment in PWS. The reviews showed that PWS had higher impairment in different cognitive domains compared to healthy controls and people with affective disorders. Impairment in domains of memory and processing speed were reported frequently.

Keywords: Cognitive impairment; Determinants; Domains impaired; Schizophrenia.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) flow diagram showing how articles are identified, screened, and included.  Abbreviations: CIPWS cognitive impairment in people with schizophrenia
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Domain of cognition impaired in people with schizophrenia as extracted from systematic reviews of single domain reviews (n = 15)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Pictorial presentation of factors associated with cognitive impairment in people with schizophrenia from reviews included (n = 25). Abbreviations: CIPWS cognitive impairment in people with schizophrenia, EF executive function, MMSE mini mental state examination, NC neuro cognition, RPS reasoning and problem solving, SC social cognition, SP speed of processing, ToM theory of mind, WM working memory
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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