Cited by 2,488Schizophrenia research and treatmentMental Health Treatment and AccessPsychiatric care and mental health services

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 605 of the 605 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 3 of the 259 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

Physical illness in patients with severe mental disorders. I. Prevalence, impact of medications and disparities in health care

Open access
DE HERT, MARC, CORRELL, CHRISTOPH U., BOBES, JULIO, CETKOVICH‐BAKMAS, MARCELO, COHEN, DAN, ASAI, ITSUO, DETRAUX, JOHAN, GAUTAM, SHIV, MÖLLER, HANS‐JURGEN, NDETEI, DAVID M., NEWCOMER, JOHN W., UWAKWE, RICHARD, LEUCHT, STEFAN·2011·World Psychiatry

Abstract

The lifespan of people with severe mental illness (SMI) is shorter compared to the general population. This excess mortality is mainly due to physical illness. We report prevalence rates of different physical illnesses as well as important individual lifestyle choices, side effects of psychotropic treatment and disparities in health care access, utilization and provision that contribute to these poor physical health outcomes. We searched MEDLINE (1966 - August 2010) combining the MeSH terms of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder with the different MeSH terms of general physical disease categories to select pertinent reviews and additional relevant studies through cross-referencing to identify prevalence figures and factors contributing to the excess morbidity and mortality rates. Nutritional and metabolic diseases, cardiovascular diseases, viral diseases, respiratory tract diseases, musculoskeletal diseases, sexual dysfunction, pregnancy complications, stomatognathic diseases, and possibly obesity-related cancers are, compared to the general population, more prevalent among people with SMI. It seems that lifestyle as well as treatment specific factors account for much of the increased risk for most of these physical diseases. Moreover, there is sufficient evidence that people with SMI are less likely to receive standard levels of care for most of these diseases. Lifestyle factors, relatively easy to measure, are barely considered for screening; baseline testing of numerous important physical parameters is insufficiently performed. Besides modifiable lifestyle factors and side effects of psychotropic medications, access to and quality of health care remains to be improved for individuals with SMI.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

People with severe mental illness (SMI) have substantially elevated physical morbidity and mortality, with excess mortality two to three times that of the general population and a 13–30 year shortened life expectancy. This selective review reports higher prevalence of obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, viral infections, respiratory disease, osteoporosis, sexual dysfunction, pregnancy complications, and oral disease in SMI, alongside medication effects and health care disparities.

Key findings

  • Excess mortality in SMI is two or three times as high as in the general population, translating to a 13–30 year shortened life expectancy; about 60% of this excess mortality is due to physical illness.
  • Obesity is more common in SMI: people with schizophrenia have a 2.8–3.5 increased likelihood of being obese, with reported obesity rates of 42–60%; those with major depression or bipolar disorder have a 1.2–1.5 increased likelihood.
  • Metabolic syndrome is highly prevalent in treated schizophrenia, with estimates between 19.4% and 68%; rates in bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder are reported as 22–30% and 42%, respectively. Diabetes prevalence is 2–3 fold higher in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and schizoaffective disorder, and 1.2–2.6 times higher with depression or depressive symptoms.
  • Health care disparities are marked: baseline metabolic testing rates for patients starting novel antipsychotics vary between 8% and less than 30%, with follow-up assessments in only 8.8%; in CATIE, non-treatment rate for diabetes was 45.3%, and up to 88% of schizophrenia patients had untreated dyslipidemia and up to 62% untreated hypertension.

Methods

  • Selective, rather than systematic, review of clinical data on physical health problems in people with SMI.
  • Searched MEDLINE (1966–August 2010) combining MeSH terms for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder with MeSH terms for major general physical disease categories; included pertinent reviews and cross-referenced additional relevant studies, sometimes using specific physical illnesses as search terms.
  • Aimed to identify prevalence figures and factors contributing to excess morbidity and mortality, including lifestyle, psychotropic medication effects, and disparities in health care access, utilization, and provision.

Limitations

  • Stated: the review is selective rather than systematic and did not include all physical diseases.
  • Stated: there is a paucity of information and a lack of large, well-designed, prospective comparative studies during pregnancy; data on antidepressant-associated diabetes risk are sparse; cancer findings in SMI are conflicting.
  • Evident: prevalence estimates vary widely by metabolic syndrome criteria, country or region, gender, ethnicity, age group, and antipsychotic treatment, limiting any single summary figure.

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Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1002/j.2051-5545.2011.tb00014.x

Cites

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Citations

Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 16

  1. Mental and Physical Health Platform., 2008, Mental and physical health charter. Bridging the gap between mental and physical health
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  3. Citrome L, 2007, Risk‐benefit analysis of available treatments for schizophrenia, Psychiatric Times, 1, 27
  4. Scheen A, 2008, Traitement neuroleptique et troubles metabolic, Med Mal Metabol, 2, 593
  5. World Health Organization Department of Noncommunicable Disease Surveillance., 1999, Definition, diagnosis and classification of diabetes mellitus and its complications: report of a WHO consultation. Part 1: diagnosis and classification of diabetes mellitus
  6. Whiting D, 2010, Equity, social determinant and public health programmes, 77
  7. Department of Health., 2001, Diabetes national service framework
  8. Casey DE, 2004, Antipsychotic‐induced weight gain and metabolic abnormalities: implications for increased mortality in patients with schizophrenia, J Clin Psychiatry, 65, 4
  9. Nicol G, 2009, Preliminary results of the MEAC study: metabolic effects of antipsychotics in children, Schizophr Bull, 35, 32
  10. Pies RW, 2001, Antipsychotics: the heart of the problem, Psychiatric Times, 18, 26
  11. Lönnroth K, 2010, Equity, social determinants and public health programmes, 219
  12. Hammerschmidt S, 2009, Lung cancer: current diagnosis and treatment, Dtsch Arztebl Int, 106, 809
  13. Dupont A, 1986, Psychiatric case registries in public health, 229
  14. MalikP.Cross‐sectional study of bone density in patients with schizophrenic or schizophreniform disease.Dissertation Leopold‐Franzens University Innsbruck 2001.
  15. Montejo AL, 2001, Incidence of sexual dysfunction associated with antidepressant agents: a prospective multicenter study of 1022 outpatients, J Clin Psychiatry, 62, 10
  16. Kwan S, 2010, Equity, social determinants and public health programmes, 159

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Metadata

Authors
DE HERT, M., CORRELL, C. U., BOBES, J., CETKOVICH‐BAKMAS, M., COHEN, D., ASAI, I., DETRAUX, J., GAUTAM, S., MÖLLER, H., NDETEI, D. M., NEWCOMER, J. W., UWAKWE, R., & LEUCHT, S.
Affiliations
  • Albert Einstein College of Medicine (US)
  • Universidad de Oviedo (ES)
  • University of Groningen (NL)
  • KU Leuven (BE)
  • SMS Medical College (IN)
  • University of Nairobi (KE)
  • Washington University in St. Louis (US)
  • Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NG)
  • Technical University of Munich (DE)
Venue
World Psychiatry
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2011-02
Volume
10
Issue
1
Pages
52-77
ISSN
  • 1723-8617 (ISSN-L)
  • 2051-5545
OpenAlex
W2116251861
Cited by
2,488
References
605
Citations by year
2026: 119 · 2025: 142 · 2024: 159 · 2023: 174 · 2022: 209 · 2021: 190 · 2020: 224 · 2019: 181 · 2018: 171 · 2017: 162 · 2016: 186 · 2015: 147 · 2014: 112 · 2013: 216 · 2012: 68
FWCI
93.34
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • World Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • University of Nairobi Research Archive (University of Nairobi) (submittedVersion)
  • Lirias (KU Leuven) (submittedVersion)
  • mediaTUM – the media and publications repository of the Technical University Munich (Technical University Munich) (submittedVersion)
  • University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • American Heart Association
  • Bristol-Myers Squibb
  • Pfizer
  • Società Italiana di Psichiatria Biologica
  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Mental Health Treatment and Access
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychiatric care and mental health services
Keywords
severe mental illness, physical illness, comorbidities, excess mortality, psychotropic medication side effects, health care disparities, lifestyle factors, cardiovascular disease, obesity, sexual dysfunction, screening, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder

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