مقایسه اثر کلوزاپین و ضدپسیکوزهای کلاسیک بر فشار و سلامت روانی مراقبان بیماران مبتلا به اسکیزوفرنیا

 AbstractIntroduction: Due to the effect of symptoms of patients with schizophrenia on the psycholo-gical well-being of their caregivers, this study was carried out to assess the effect of treatment with clozapine and conventional antipsychotics on the caregivers’ burden and well-being. Method: Two hundred and three patients with schizophrenia and their caregivers were examined in a retrospective study. The subjects were enrolled using the sequential method. Family Burden Interview Scale (FBIS), Morning-side Rehabilitation Status Scale (MRSS), General Health Ques- tionnaire (GHQ) and a demographic questionnaire were the instruments of this study. Chi-square, correlation coefficient, multiple linear regression and t-student tests were used for data ana-lysis. Results: The results showed that most patients treated with clozapine consisted of young un-employed men with a higher frequency of hospitalization and higher level of education. The caregivers consisted mainly of parents. A positive correlation was observed between burden, psy- chological well-being and psychiatric symptoms of the patients. Psychiatric symptoms in general and negative symptoms in particular were less severe in the clozapine receiving group, but there was no significant difference with regard to burden and well being among the caregivers. Conclusion: By a better control of positive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia, clozapine could possibly be effective in reducing burden and maintaining psychological well-being.