Mortality and Its Determinants in Late-Life Schizophrenia: A 5-Year Prospective Study in a Dutch Catchment Area
Abstract
It is uncertain if the raised mortality in schizophrenia persists in later life. Register-based studies suggest that excess mortality continues, although at a lower level than in younger age groups. However, prospective follow-up studies of older schizophrenia samples are lacking. A cohort of 157 older patients (mean age at study entry: 68 years) diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder in a psychiatric catchment area in Amsterdam, the Netherlands was studied. Standardized mortality rate (SMR) was estimated at a 5-year follow-up, in referral to the same age group in the general catchment area population. The impact on survival time of a range of independent demographic and clinical predictors was evaluated. The cohort had an all-cause SMR of 1.89 (95% CI: 1.28-2.70). SMR was higher in men (2.60; 95% CI: 1.42-4.37) than in women (1.78; 95% CI: 1.02-2.90). All deaths were from natural causes. Reduced survival was associated with higher age (HR: 1.10; 95% CI: 1.05-1.16), male gender (HR: 3.94; 95% CI: 1.87-8.31), and having had one or more compulsory admissions in the past (HR: 2.61; 95% CI: 1.46-4.68). In contrast, no mortality associations were found with diagnosis (schizophrenia versus schizoaffective disorder),...Continue Reading
References
Mortality in schizophrenia and other psychoses: a 10-year follow-up of the ӔSOP first-episode cohort
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