The impact of social cognition deficits on real life functioning in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome: A comparative study with a large population of patients with schizophrenia

Introduction22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22q11.2DS) represents a congenital syndrome with several clinical features. It entails a 25% risk of psychotic onset in lifespan. 22q11.2DS is a reliable model for biological vulnerability to schizophrenia.ObjectivesWith the hypothesis of similar impairments in schizophrenia and 22q11DS, to investigate a possible correlation between Social Cognition (SC) and Interpersonal Functioning (FU).MethodsSample consists of 1735 adults: 893 schizophrenic subjects (SCZ); 18 with 22q11.2DS and psychosis (DEL_SCZ); 44 22q11.2DS individuals (DEL); 780 healthy controls (HC). SCZ and HC data come from a multicentric study by Network for Research on Psychoses. SC was assessed with The Awareness of Social Interference Test (TASIT, consisting of three sections: T1= Emotion Recognition; T2=Minimal Social Inference; T3=Social Inference Enriched). The Specific Levels of Functioning (SLOF) interview was employed.ResultsDEL_SCZ (p