Increased in-hospital mortality from COVID-19 in patients with schizophrenia

There is limited information describing the presenting characteristics and outcomes of patients with schizophrenia (SCZ) requiring hospitalization for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We aimed to compare the clinical characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 SCZ patients with those of non-SCZ patients. This was a case-control study of COVID-19 patients admitted to 4 AP–HM/AMU acute care hospitals in Marseille, southern France. COVID-19 infection was confirmed by a positive result on polymerase chain reaction testing of a nasopharyngeal sample and/or on chest computed scan among patients requiring hospital admission. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. The secondary outcome was intensive care unit (ICU) admission. A total of 1092 patients were included. The overall in-hospital mortality rate was 9.0%. The SCZ patients had an increased mortality compared to the non-SCZ patients (26.7% vs. 8.7%, P=0.039), which was confirmed by the multivariable analysis after adjustment for age, sex, smoking status, obesity and comorbidity (adjusted odds ratio 4.36 [95% CI: 1.09–17.44]; P=0.038). In contrast, the SCZ patients were not more frequently admitted to the ICU than the non-SCZ patients. Importantly, the SCZ patients were mostly institutionalized (63.6%, 100% of those who died), and they were more likely to have cancers and respiratory comorbidities. This study suggests that SCZ is not overrepresented among COVID-19 hospitalized patients, but SCZ is associated with excess COVID-19 mortality, confirming the existence of health disparities described in other somatic diseases. Il existe peu d’informations décrivant les caractéristiques et les résultats des patients atteints de schizophrénie (SCZ) nécessitant une hospitalisation pour maladie à coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). Nous avons cherché à comparer les caractéristiques cliniques et les résultats des patients SCZ atteints de COVID-19 avec ceux des patients non SCZ. Il s’agissait d’une étude cas-témoins de patients COVID-19 admis dans 4 hôpitaux de soins aigus AP–HM/AMU à Marseille, dans le sud de la France. L’infection par COVID-19 a été confirmée par un résultat positif au test d’amplification en chaîne par polymérase d’un échantillon nasopharyngé et/ou au scanner thoracique effectué chez les patients nécessitant une hospitalisation. Le principal critère de jugement a été la mortalité hospitalière. Le critère de jugement secondaire était l’admission en unité de soins intensifs (USI). Un total de 1092 pa