Relapse in schizophrenia: costs, clinical outcomes and quality of life.

BACKGROUND Relapse is one of the most costly aspects of schizophrenia. AIMS To compare costs, clinical outcomes and quality of life for patients who experienced relapse in schizophrenia with a control group who did not relapse. METHOD Patients were randomly selected from current psychiatric case-loads drawn from urban and suburban areas of Leicester. Differences in costs and outcomes by relapse status in the previous 6 months were examined using parametric and non-parametric tests, and multivariate analysis was used to examine factors associated with relapse and costs. RESULTS Costs for the patients who relapsed were over four times higher than those for the non-relapse group. There were few statistically significant differences in clinical and quality of life measures by relapse status. Multivariate analyses suggested some significant correlates of relapse and costs. CONCLUSIONS The higher costs associated with relapse will be of interest to policy-makers who face difficult choices concerning new but more expensive treatments for patients with schizophrenia.