Trajectories of occupational and social functioning in people with recent-onset non-affective psychosis enrolled in specialized early intervention services across New York state

Abstract Background Despite the benefits of early intervention services for the initial stages of psychosis ongoing impairments in functioning are common. Aims To identify 1-year trajectories of occupational and social functioning in individuals enrolled in OnTrackNY, a statewide program offering early intervention services for recent-onset psychosis in community settings. Method We included 937 persons with recent-onset psychosis enrolled at 19 programs across New York State. Demographic, social and clinical data was collected at program entry and at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. We used growth mixture models to identify occupational and social functioning trajectories and examined the association between trajectory class, baseline factors and symptoms during 1-year follow-up. Results Four distinct trajectory classes of occupational and social functioning were identified. The converging (58.0%) class had disparate levels of functioning at baseline (low occupational, higher social) which eventually converged. The other classes had high-stable (14.8%), moderate-stable (17.8%) and low-improving (9.4%) trajectories. Female gender, educational attainment and private insurance status were significantly associated with the trajectory characterized by higher functioning, while living alone, homelessness, a longer period from psychosis onset to program enrollment, a schizophrenia diagnosis and cannabis use at enrollment were associated with the poorest trajectory. The differences in severity of symptoms by trajectory class diminished over time. Conclusions Trajectories of occupational and social functioning showed substantial variation, but overall, remained stable or improved during 1-year follow-up. The relationship between symptoms and occupational and social functioning attenuated after the acute treatment phase.