Access and latency to first antipsychotic treatment in Italian patients with schizophrenia and other schizophrenic spectrum disorders across different epochs

Background The duration of untreated illness (DUI) is a measure to express the latency to first psychopharmacological treatment: it differs among psychiatric disorders, being influenced by several illness‐intrinsic and environmental factors. The present study aimed to assess differences in DUI and related variables in patients with schizophrenia (SKZ) versus other schizophrenic spectrum disorders (SSDs) across different epochs. Methods 101 SKZ or SSD patients were assessed with respect to DUI and related variables through clinical interview and questionnaire. Results Patients with SKZ showed earlier ages of onset, first diagnosis and first antipsychotic treatment compared with patients with other SSDs (F = 11.02, p