Schizoaffective disorder

People with schizoaffective disorder experience a combination of the symptoms of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

That combination can include hallucinations, delusions and confused and disorganized  thinking, and periods of depression and/or mania.

Because people with bipolar disorder can experience the symptoms of psychosis, and people with schizophrenia may experience depression, psychiatrists often find it very difficult to make a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, and a diagnosis that is given may change (see Diagnosis page).

Due to the difficulties in diagnosis, it is hard to know how many people have schizoaffective disorder. Researchers think it is less common than schizophrenia or bipolar disorder: they estimate that about one in every 200 people develops schizoaffective disorder. More women than men are given the diagnosis, and, as with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, the symptoms usually start in late adolescence or early adulthood.

There are no specific treatments solely for schizoaffective disorder. People are usually prescribed both antipsychotic drugs to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia and medication used to treat the symptoms of bipolar disorder. The exact combination will depend on whether someone is experiencing mania or depression, or a mixture of both.