First-Episode Psychosis: An Overview of Research in Iran

In the last two decades, the importance of developing strategies that reduce the burden of new onset psychosis on affected persons, their families, and the community has been recognized. This article reviews the literature on First-episode psychosis (FEP) in Iran. In the last decade, several studies on FEP have been published in Tehran concerning Duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), pathways to care, diagnostic stability, outcome predictors, treatment, aftercare services, psychosocial interventions, and Neurological soft signs (NSSs). However, the samples in most studies were small, and most participants were recruited from inpatient wards. Therefore, caution must be exercised when generalizing the results to patients with FEP in the community, particularly in other parts of the country. We conclude that it is necessary to conduct follow-up research with sufficiently large samples from the community to support the previously published longitudinal studies on FEP, as well as to help to inform the development of specialized FEP and early intervention services.