Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42533463›Full record

ArticleBJPsych open2026

Multidimensional moderators of treatment trajectories in people with schizophrenia at high risk of relapse: findings from a real-world lower middle-income country cohort.

Retha Smit, Hilmar Luckhoff, Lebogang Phahladira, Sanja Kilian, Robin Emsley, Laila Asmal

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BJPsych open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Retha SmitDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculty of Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3966-5213
Hilmar LuckhoffDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculty of Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
Lebogang PhahladiraDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculty of Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
Sanja KilianDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculty of Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
Robin EmsleyDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculty of Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
Laila AsmalDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculty of Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWhile treatment non-adherence is a well-established relapse risk factor, broader contributors require investigation. Studying chronic, high-risk schizophrenia cohorts in real-world lower middle-income country (LMIC) settingsremains methodologically challenging.

aimsTo explore multidimensional factors moderating treatment trajectories in individuals with chronic schizophrenia at high risk of relapse, comparing relapsers and non-relapsers in a real-world LMIC setting.

methodIn this 12-month prospective naturalistic study, 56 clinically stable adults with chronic schizophrenia (≥2 relapses within 3 years), receiving long-acting injectable and/or oral antipsychotics were followed up monthly. Relapse was defined as worsening psychotic symptoms requiring re-hospitalisation. Linear mixed-effects models examined trajectories of Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total and factor domains (positive, negative and disorganised) and tested group*time*moderator interactions for neurological soft signs (NSS), quality of life (QOL), aberrant salience, anxiety, resilience, self-esteem, social adversity and childhood trauma.

resultsTwenty-three participants (41%) relapsed; overall attrition was 59%, with 21% of discontinuations relapsing. Most relapses (87%) involved non-adherence and substance misuse. No group*time interaction effects were found for PANSS domains. Poorer overall QOL (

conclusionsConducting longitudinal research in chronic, high-risk schizophrenia populations in LMICs is challenging. Although exploratory and hypothesis-generating, QOL and NSS may represent clinically meaningful moderators of treatment course and potential targets for intervention and future research.

Indexed as

Chronic schizophreniamoderatorspsychopathology trajectoriesrelapse

Identifiers

PMID42533463
PMCPMC13437808

What Socratic holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.