Psychotic-like experiences in general population: Psychiatric comorbidity and impact on quality of life across lifespan.

Background And Hypothesis: In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence of Psychotics-Like Experiences according to age group and their association with psychiatric disorders through these different age-group, as well as their impact on quality of life.

Study Design: Using data from the second wave of the NESARC, a large general population study, we considered 6 mutually exclusive groups according to the age at the interview: 20-29 years; 30-39 years; 40-49 years; 50-59 years; 60-69 years; 70+ years. We determined the frequency of PLEs defined as positive, negative, depressive, mania and disorganization symptoms with reference to the PANSS, and the association between the presence of PLEs in the previous year and the presence of lifetime psychiatric disorders and quality of life across different age groups.

Study Results: The prevalence of PLEs decreased across age from a 34.7 % in the 20-29 years age group, to 19.7 % in the 70+ years age group. Across all age groups, individuals who reported PLEs in the previous year had higher risk of having any psychiatric disorder, (i.e any mood disorder, any anxiety disorder any substance abuse and any personality disorder) compared to individuals not reporting PLEs. All dimensions of quality of life on the SF12 scale were negatively associated with the presence of a PLE regardless of age group.

Conclusion: We found that the frequency of PLEs decreased with age and that the presence of PLE is associated with psychiatric disorders and with impaired quality of life in all age groups.