Examining the Impact of Cognitive Impairment on Quality of Life in People With Schizophrenia: A Qualitative and Quantitative Social Media Analysis
Introduction: This semantic analysis of social media posts captured unsolicited, real-world experiences from people with schizophrenia to examine the impact of cognitive impairment on quality of life (QoL).
Methods : Anonymized social media posts from 23 online communities were retrieved (August 2020–July 2024). A thematic analysis of these posts was performed using a generative artificial intelligence–based tool and analyzed using Natural Language Processing to uncover key themes (e.g. symptoms, QoL aspects). Phrases describing cognitive impairments were categorized into cognitive symptoms that approximately mapped to MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) domains. Fisher’s exact test and odds ratios (OR) assessed associations between these domains and QoL aspects.
Results: Overall, 263,046 posts from 8219 people with schizophrenia were collected. Descriptions of cognitive symptoms (n=1018) from 780 of 5251 (15%) people mentioning symptoms were mapped to MCCB domains (Speed of Processing: 33%; Attention/Vigilance: 21%; Working Memory: 15%; Verbal/Visual Learning and Memory: 14%; Reasoning and Problem Solving: 8%; Social Cognition: 8%). QoL aspects were statistically significantly associated with MCCB cognitive-domain impairments (OR: 6.92; p≤0.001); energy and motivation was associated with impairments in Speed of Processing, Attention/Vigilance, and Verbal/Visual Learning and Memory (OR: 2.56, 4.92, and 4.60, respectively; p≤0.001), as was work with Speed of Processing and Attention/Vigilance (OR: 2.49 and 5.99; p≤0.001), activities of daily living with Reasoning and Problem Solving (OR: 10.22; p≤0.001), and sleep and rest with Verbal/Visual Learning and Memory (OR: 2.48; p≤0.001).
Conclusions: Real-world insights demonstrate the impact of cognitive impairment on QoL in people with schizophrenia.
Funding: Boehringer Ingelheim.
