As many studies suggest, schizophrenic spectrum disorders outcome is linked with the duration of untreated first-episode psychosis; the longer is the gap between the onset of the disease and the first medical treatement the worst is the outcome. Cognitive impairment is one of the major predictor of poor outcome.

We study if there is a correlation between a long duration of untreated first-episode psychosis and cognitive impairment in the long term outcome.

Our sample consisted of 41 subjects (27M and 14 F) with a mean age of 48.6 years (SD = 11.91) with a mean age of onset of 23.4 years (SD = 7.68) and a mean duration of illness of 22.1 years (SD = 14.8) who has been diagnosed schizophrenic according to DSM-IV TR through the SCID-I and evaluated with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) to study neuro-cognitive profile.

A long duration of untreated psychosis is associated with redution in the performance scale of association symbols to number (p = 0.04) and performance IQ (p = 0.04) regardless of the duration of illness.

This study confirms an association between long duration of untreated psychosis and cognitive deterioration. The reduced performance suggest a deficit in memory, attention and concentration, speed of performance, coordination,skill and non verbal ability in the sample with the longer DUI.