Schizophrenia: Medical Illness, Mortality, and Aging

Objective: Schizophrenia is a devastating and common psychiatric disorder which is associated with a high degree of medical morbidity and reduced life span in addition to psychosis. In this article, these problems will be discussed in the context of schizophrenia and aging. Method: The recent literature was reviewed using Pubmed, Medline, and Google scholar with the search terms “schizophrenia, aging, medical problems.” Results: Schizophrenia is associated with significant medical morbidity and mortality. Diabetes and cardiovascular disease, along with smoking and obesity, are over-represented and contribute to reduced quality of life and life span. Schizophrenics often receive poor medical care. Conclusions: The impacts of schizophrenia on physical health and successful aging have been underestimated. Psychiatrists and primary care physicians need to address the overlapping medical and psychiatric aspects of the disorder while the medical care system for these patients requires a much higher degree of coordination than is currently available.