Positive symptoms: “Positive” symptoms are psychotic behaviors, not normally seen in healthy people. People with positive symptoms may “lose touch” with some aspects of reality. Symptoms include:
• Hallucinations
• Delusions
• Thought …show more content…
Despite its low lifetime prevalence (median 4.0 per 1,000 persons) and point prevalence range from 2.6 to 6.7 per 1,000, health, social, and economic burden related to schizophrenia has been tremendous, not only for patients but also for families, other caregivers, and the wider society. The World Health Organization estimated that direct costs of schizophrenia in Western countries range from 1.6% to 2.6% of total health care expenditures, which in turn account for between 7% and 12% of the gross national product (GNP).In the US, the economic burden of schizophrenia is found to be more than US$60 billion per year. Albeit the increasing evidence base, this multifaceted burden of schizophrenia remains underestimated. The substantial burden imposed by schizophrenia has been linked to the early onset of the disease and its incurable nature with persisting symptoms. Societies and communities find it increasingly difficult to offer support to schizophrenia patients through family and social bonds. Annual costs for the schizophrenia population in the country ranged from US$94 million to US$102 billion. Indirect costs contributed to 50%–85% of the total costs associated with schizophrenia. The economic burden of schizophrenia was estimated to range from 0.02% to 1.65% of the gross domestic product (Chong et al,