A systematic review and meta-analysis of neurological soft signs in relatives of people with schizophrenia

BMC Psychiatry

Table 2 Description of included studies

Study reference	NSS Scale	Blindness#	Schizophrenia Group							Relatives Group						Control Group
			Disorder (Diagnostic method)	N	Mean Age	Male%	Years in education	Illness duration in years	NSS Mean (SD)	Relative Type	N	Mean Age	Male%	Years in education	NSS Mean (SD)	Control Type	N	Mean Age	Male%	Years in education	NSS Mean (SD)
Compton et al 2007 [24]	NES	No	Scz or scz-like (SCID-DSMIV)	73	32.4	58%	13.1	nr	20.7 (10.6)	Mixed	44	43.2	16%	13.1	15.9 (9)	Waiting area and public	54	44.8	50%	12.3	14.3 (8.3)
Egan et al 2001 [25]	NES	Yes	Scz (DSMIV	115	35.9	83%	15.4	nr	6.8 (4.24)	Siblings	185	36.3	43%	15.4	3.05 (2.82)	Normal Volunteers	88	33.4	42%	15.9	2.8 (2.29)
Gourion et al 2003 [26]	SNE	No	Scz or scz-like (DSMIV)	18	28.2	67%	5.5	9.1	18.7 (9.4)	Parents	36	60.4	50%	5.5	16 (5.8)	Hospital Staff or volunteers	42	26.6	38%	7.1	3.9 (2.8)
Ismail et al 1998 [27]	CNE	No	Scz (DSMIIITR)	60	38.2	73%	nr	14.8	3.25 (3.31)	Siblings	21	37.9	nr	nr	1.33 (2.01)	Normal workers	75	35.9	79%	nr	0.2 (0.54)
Mechri et al 2009 [28]a	SNE	No	Scz (DIGS)	69	28.2	74%	12.4	6.1	15 (7.9)	Siblings	43	29.2	40%	13.8	8 (4)	Hospital Volunteer	108	28.2	63%	13.5	5.8 (3.3)
Mechri et al 2009 [28]b	SNE	No	Scz (DSMIV)	66	31.2	76%	8.5	nr	19.5 (5.2)	Siblings	31	32.2	71%	10.6	10.8 (3.4)	Hospital Volunteer	60	30.8	67%	9.8	4.2 (2.1)
Rossi et al 1990 [14]	CNE	Yes	Scz (DSMIII)	58	34.8	64%	6.9	11.1	12.63 (4.79)	Mixed	31	39.2	58%	6.9	9.8 (2.42)	Family Practice	38	36.2	58%	8.5	4.07 (2.53)
Yazici et al, 2002 [29]	NES	No	Scz (DSMIV)	99	31.4	48%	10.9	8.9	20.47 (10.07)	Siblings	80	31.6	53%	10.9	10.6 (7.23)	Normal Volunteers	59	31.6	53%	10.8	6.66 (5.37)

NSS - Neurological soft signs, NES - Neurological Evaluation Scale, SNE - Standardised Neurological Examination, CNE - Condensed Neurological Examination, Scz - Schizophrenia, Scz-like - Schizophrenia-like disorders, DSM- Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, SCID- Structured Clinical Interview for DSM, SCAN- Structured Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry, DIGS - Diagnostic Interviews for Genetic Studies, nr - not reported, # - All studies reported inter-rater reliability.

ISSN: 1471-244X