Discontinuation and remission rates and social functioning in patients with schizophrenia receiving second‐generation antipsychotics: 52‐week evaluation of JUMPs, a randomized, open‐label study

Aim Globally, evidence from short‐term studies is insufficient for the guidelines to uniformly recommend a particular antipsychotic(s) for the maintenance treatment of schizophrenia. Therefore, long‐term comprehensive evaluation of antipsychotics is required from a social rehabilitation perspective, especially for drugs that have not yet been studied. The Japan Useful Medication Program for Schizophrenia (JUMPs) is a large‐scale, long‐term naturalistic study to present pivotal 52‐week data on the continuity of second‐generation antipsychotics (SGA: aripiprazole, blonanserin, and paliperidone). Methods JUMPs was an open‐label, three‐arm, randomized, parallel‐group, 52‐week study. Enrolled patients had schizophrenia, were ≥20 years old, and required antipsychotic treatment or switched from previous therapy. The primary endpoint was treatment discontinuation rate over 52 weeks. Secondary outcomes included remission rate, social functioning, and quality‐of‐life scores [Personal and Social Performance Scale (PSP) and EuroQol‐5 dimensions], and safety. Results In total, 251 patients received aripiprazole (n = 82), blonanserin (n = 85), or paliperidone (n = 84). The discontinuation rate (P = 0.9771) and remission rates (P > 0.05) over 52 weeks did not differ significantly between the three treatment groups. The discontinuation rates were 68.3%, 68.2%, and 65.5% in the aripiprazole, blonanserin, and paliperidone groups, respectively. Significant improvements (all P