Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia
- Predominantly characterized by a lack of motivation/apathy and diminished emotional expression
- Are often the first sign of schizophrenia
- Occur across the course of the disease, are persistent, and can be severe
- Account for a large part of a patient’s long-term morbidity and poor functional outcomes
Prevalence and Appearance of Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia
| 20% to 40% of patients with schizophrenia exhibit persistent negative symptoms.3,4 Over 50% of patients may have clinically relevant negative symptoms that require treatment.5,6 |
| Male patients have higher incidence rates of negative symptoms and longer duration of schizophrenia.7 |
Negative symptoms are more closely related to poor prognosis than positive symptoms, and tend to be the most persistent.2
Negative symptoms can occur at any time along the disease course, but they are commonly reported as the first symptom of schizophrenia.7
73% of patients with negative symptoms had them before the onset of positive symptoms. | 
In 20% of patients negative symptoms were present within the same month as positive symptoms.8 |