# What is Schizophrenia? Source: [[Article Routine Clustering of Mobile Sensor Data Facilitates Psychotic Relapse Prediction in Schizophrenia Patients]] - Schizophrenia is the most common psychotic disorder, affecting up to 20 million people worldwide [1] and accounting for more than 13.4 million years of life lived with a disability [2]. It can be caused by a combination of genetic, environmental, and psychosocial factors. Patients with schizophrenia experience ranges of positive symptoms (hallucinations, delusions, etc.), negative symptoms (anhedonia, social withdrawal, etc.), and cognitive dysfunctions (lack of attention, working memory, executive function, etc.) [3,4]. The disorder is highly disabling and often has consequences such as impairment of education, employment, and social contact [4]. Adults with schizophrenia also have an increased risk of premature mortality than the general population [5]. Proper treatment and management of schizophrenia are therefore important to limit the negative life impact of the disorder. - Schizophrenia is usually treated with a combination of antipsychotic medications and psychosocial treatments. However, patients under treatment can still experience psychotic/symptomatic relapse, an acute exacerbation of schizophrenia symptoms [6]. A prior study found that the cumulative first and second relapse rate was 81.9% and 78% respectively within 5 years of recovery from the first episode of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder [7]. The risk of relapse is found to be significantly higher after treatment reduction or discontinuation [6]. Relapse poses severe health risks for the individual and can jeopardize their treatment progression and daily functioning. Each relapse episode is associated with a risk of self-harm and harm to others [8].