Medical Comorbidity in Schizophrenia

Abstract

People with schizophrenia have higher prevalence of physical disease and its lifespan is shortened when compared with general population. On average, they die 10 to 25 years earlier than general population.

Aim

The authors aim to identify the main comorbidities in people with schizophrenia and define strategies to prevent it.

Methods

Literature review on Medline database.

Results

People with schizophrenia have higher risk to have hepatitis, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, overweight, sexual dysfunction and obstetric complications. This high vulnerability is associated with higher rates of preventable risk factors, such as smoking, alcohol consumption, use of street drugs, poor dietary habits and lack of exercise. Moreover, some antipsychotic medications used to treat schizophrenia have been associated with higher incidence of physical disease. At last, there are risk factors attributable to patients and healthcare services. Psychiatrists are often not trained in detection and treatment of physical disease. Despite this, there are several attitudes that can reduce the associated morbidity and mortality in people with schizophrenia, such as improving access to healthcare services, integrated healthcare interventions to enable early diagnosis and promotion of healthy habits.

Conclusions

Diagnosis and management of morbidity in people with schizophrenia are more difficult because obstacles related to the patient, the illness, the medical attitudes and the structure of the healthcare services. Regardless these difficulties, the increased frequency of physical disease in people with schizophrenia must be valued due to improved detection and treatment of medical disease will have significant benefits for their psychosocial function and overall quality of life.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.