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Concept
Schizoaffective disorder
Summary
Schizoaffective disorder (SZA, SZD) is a mental disorder characterized by abnormal thought processes and an unstable mood. This diagnosis requires symptoms of both schizophrenia (usually psychosis) and a mood disorder: either bipolar disorder or depression. The main criterion is the presence of psychotic symptoms for at least two weeks without any mood symptoms. Schizoaffective disorder can often be misdiagnosed when the correct diagnosis may be psychotic depression, bipolar I disorder, schizophreniform disorder, or schizophrenia. This is a problem as treatment and prognosis differ greatly for most of these diagnoses.
There are three forms of schizoaffective disorder: bipolar (or manic) type (marked by symptoms of schizophrenia and mania), depressive type (marked by symptoms of schizophrenia and depression), and mixed type (marked by symptoms of schizophrenia, depression, and mania). Common symptoms include hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized speech and thinking. Auditory hallucinations, or "hearing voices", are most common. The onset of symptoms usually begins in adolescence or young adulthood. On a ranking scale of symptom progression relating to the schizophrenic spectrum, schizoaffective disorder falls between mood disorders and schizophrenia in regards to severity.
Genetics (researched in the field of genomics); problems with neural circuits; chronic early, and chronic or short-term current environmental stress appear to be important causal factors. No single isolated organic cause has been found, but extensive evidence exists for abnormalities in the metabolism of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), dopamine, and glutamic acid in people with schizophrenia, psychotic mood disorders, and schizoaffective disorder. People with schizoaffective disorder are likely to have co-occurring conditions, including anxiety disorders and substance use disorders.
While a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder is rare, 0.3% in the general population, it is considered a common diagnosis among psychiatric disorders.
Official source
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