Symptomatic remission is increasingly perceived as a realistic objective of pharmacological treatment in patients with schizophrenia (2). However the relationships between symptomatic remission, as defined by standardized criteria, and functional outcome remain controversial. In the present study, we designed a one-year follow-up of clinically stable patients with schizophrenia and examined the relationships of clinical remission with several indices of psychosocial functioning.

Thirty-six patients with schizophrenia were included. All the evaluations were carried out both at baseline (T0) and after a one-year follow-up (T12). The categorization in psychosocial remission/non-remission was done by means of the Psychosocial Remission in Schizophrenia (PSRS) scale.

Both at T0 and at T12, R showed, with respect to NR, a better social functioning and a better quality of life. Correlation analysis revealed that the better the psychosocial functioning, the lower the scores on all psychopathological dimensions, except “anxiety/depression” and “hostility” at T0 as well as “anxiety/depression” at T12. At T0, 65% of R resulted also in psychosocial remission; at T12, this percentage reached 90%.

Our findings suggest that symptomatic remission in schizophrenia is associated to functional outcome in the majority of cases, especially when both symptomatic and chronological criteria are met.