Somatic Implications in Hospitalized Patients with Chronic Schizophrenia

Abstract

Schizophrenic patients have a life expectancy shorter than that of the general population. The multisystemic implication of the psychotic disease is evidenced by the high prevalence of somatic comorbidities associated with the illness. Patients with schizophrenia have a higher risk to develop somatic comorbidities due to their lifestyle changes, medication intake and poor medical assistance. We conducted a retrospective descriptive study in order to determine the prevalence of certain somatic conditions associated with schizophrenia as well as the characteristics of this particular group of patients.