Aims: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between cognitive and neurological impairments with each other and with some prognostic factors in schizophrenic patients.
Methods: A cross-sectional study with convenience sampling method was carried out on 30 (18 males and 12 females) schizophrenic patients. The authors administered the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) and eight selected neurological soft signs from the Neurological Evaluation Scale (NES) to the patients. The collected data have been processed by SPSS software using Kendal's-tau-b test, Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon Rank Sum test, and Pearson's correlation test.
Results: There was a meaningful correlation between the MMSE score with the age of disease onset, one of the neurological soft signs (rhythm tapping sign), and the so-called severity index. There was also a significant relationship between the age of disease onset with total neurological soft sign score and with the so-called severity index. The correlation between neuroleptic dosage and neurological soft signs was statistically meaningful as well.
Conclusion: There would be a strong correlation between the MMSE score and some prognostic variables in schizophrenia. The age of disease onset seems to be one of the most important factors related to the prognosis of schizophrenia.
