People with schizophrenia die younger than general population
People with schizophrenia die at a rate that is three times higher than the general population — and eight years younger — according to a study.
“The early death associated with schizophrenia is tragic and probably preventable,” says co-author of the report.
“It’s unjust how doomed they are,” said the psychiatrist, who’s also a scientist.
In one country, it’s estimated that 300,000 people live with the severe mental disorder — 120,000 in a city — characterized by disruption in thinking, which affects language, perception and sense of self.
Researchers looked at deaths in that city of those 15 and older between 1993 and 2012. There were 1,621,251 deaths, of which 1.9 per cent, or 31,349, were people with schizophrenia.
Studying the specific causes of death over two decades enabled researchers to look for trends in the general population and in those with schizophrenia. People with schizophrenia had higher rates of death for all causes, such as heart disease, cancer, respiratory failure and metabolic disorders, including diabetes.
Overall, those with schizophrenia had a mortality rate three times higher. When isolating specific causes of death, the rate was often two to four times higher — with the exception of suicide, which was about 10 to 20 times higher.
When it came to cardiovascular disease — the leading cause of death in that country and around the world — the general population experienced a reduction over time. In part, that’s because smoking has become far less common thanks to public-health campaigns, researcher says.
By contrast, those with schizophrenia aren’t experiencing the same reduction, he says. They’re more likely to smoke and have higher rates of diabetes, which can develop because many new anti-psychotic drugs promote weight gain and cholesterol abnormalities.
“They have not been the beneficiaries of the same kind of public health and quality of care initiatives that have benefited the rest of the population,” Kurdyak says. “They’re in a Catch-22. They need these new medications to help them stabilize their schizophrenia, but it also puts them at even greater risk for diabetes and heart attacks.”
Schizophrenia itself doesn’t increase risk of dying. But the study shows those with the disorder live about eight years less than the general population. Researcher suspects there are a couple of key reasons for this.
For starters, schizophrenia makes it harder for people to take care of themselves and to manage their diet, lifestyle choices and medication regimen. For instance, living with diabetes is challenging for anyone, but it’s much harder if you have schizophrenia, he says.
And it can be tough for a primary care doctor to address key medical issues when someone has schizophrenia, and other illnesses. Appropriate care may require trips to the family doctor, psychiatrist, specialist, laboratory and pharmacy — again, this is hard for anyone to co-ordinate, even tougher if you have schizophrenia.
“There’s a failure of integration,” he says. “We do these people no service by providing siloed care.”
That’s why he would like to see better integrated supports that address both mental and physical health care under one roof.
He notes other research shows life expectancy for those with schizophrenia is reduced 10 to 25 years.
People with schizophrenia tell him that they’ve complained to family doctors about physical pain, and were told, “It’s all in your head.”
“They grow tired of the stigma — they see they’re not getting the same care as their brother or wealthy uncle. They talk about that in support groups.”
The group which supported the study, is working to improve access to better-integrated mental and physical health care in the province. That’s the focus of its annual conference.
There, the story of a person's daughter — will be featured as someone with schizophrenia who didn’t get timely physical care and died prematurely.
She was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 20 and multiple sclerosis at 41. She died of cancer in 2013 when she was 45. A year before her death she had complained to her family doctor of back pain and leg weakness — and gone to the emergency department a few times. She says doctors dismissed the pain as being caused by relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis.
One day, she woke up paralyzed from the waist down. She was taken to hospital where tests revealed she had Stage 4 lymphoma. She had a large tumour in her pelvis and was suffering from spinal cord compression. She died within three months.
“If she had been diagnosed much earlier, possibly she could have had a chance to get some treatment and lived longer,” researcher says. “It’s just very unfair.”
“The early death associated with schizophrenia is tragic and probably preventable,” says co-author of the report.
“It’s unjust how doomed they are,” said the psychiatrist, who’s also a scientist.
In one country, it’s estimated that 300,000 people live with the severe mental disorder — 120,000 in a city — characterized by disruption in thinking, which affects language, perception and sense of self.
Researchers looked at deaths in that city of those 15 and older between 1993 and 2012. There were 1,621,251 deaths, of which 1.9 per cent, or 31,349, were people with schizophrenia.
Studying the specific causes of death over two decades enabled researchers to look for trends in the general population and in those with schizophrenia. People with schizophrenia had higher rates of death for all causes, such as heart disease, cancer, respiratory failure and metabolic disorders, including diabetes.
Overall, those with schizophrenia had a mortality rate three times higher. When isolating specific causes of death, the rate was often two to four times higher — with the exception of suicide, which was about 10 to 20 times higher.
When it came to cardiovascular disease — the leading cause of death in that country and around the world — the general population experienced a reduction over time. In part, that’s because smoking has become far less common thanks to public-health campaigns, researcher says.
By contrast, those with schizophrenia aren’t experiencing the same reduction, he says. They’re more likely to smoke and have higher rates of diabetes, which can develop because many new anti-psychotic drugs promote weight gain and cholesterol abnormalities.
“They have not been the beneficiaries of the same kind of public health and quality of care initiatives that have benefited the rest of the population,” Kurdyak says. “They’re in a Catch-22. They need these new medications to help them stabilize their schizophrenia, but it also puts them at even greater risk for diabetes and heart attacks.”
Schizophrenia itself doesn’t increase risk of dying. But the study shows those with the disorder live about eight years less than the general population. Researcher suspects there are a couple of key reasons for this.
For starters, schizophrenia makes it harder for people to take care of themselves and to manage their diet, lifestyle choices and medication regimen. For instance, living with diabetes is challenging for anyone, but it’s much harder if you have schizophrenia, he says.
And it can be tough for a primary care doctor to address key medical issues when someone has schizophrenia, and other illnesses. Appropriate care may require trips to the family doctor, psychiatrist, specialist, laboratory and pharmacy — again, this is hard for anyone to co-ordinate, even tougher if you have schizophrenia.
“There’s a failure of integration,” he says. “We do these people no service by providing siloed care.”
That’s why he would like to see better integrated supports that address both mental and physical health care under one roof.
He notes other research shows life expectancy for those with schizophrenia is reduced 10 to 25 years.
People with schizophrenia tell him that they’ve complained to family doctors about physical pain, and were told, “It’s all in your head.”
“They grow tired of the stigma — they see they’re not getting the same care as their brother or wealthy uncle. They talk about that in support groups.”
The group which supported the study, is working to improve access to better-integrated mental and physical health care in the province. That’s the focus of its annual conference.
There, the story of a person's daughter — will be featured as someone with schizophrenia who didn’t get timely physical care and died prematurely.
She was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 20 and multiple sclerosis at 41. She died of cancer in 2013 when she was 45. A year before her death she had complained to her family doctor of back pain and leg weakness — and gone to the emergency department a few times. She says doctors dismissed the pain as being caused by relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis.
One day, she woke up paralyzed from the waist down. She was taken to hospital where tests revealed she had Stage 4 lymphoma. She had a large tumour in her pelvis and was suffering from spinal cord compression. She died within three months.
“If she had been diagnosed much earlier, possibly she could have had a chance to get some treatment and lived longer,” researcher says. “It’s just very unfair.”
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Labels: cancer, death rate higher, diabetes, heart diseases, metabolic disorders, respiratory failure, Schizophrenia
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