Lifestyle and physical health in schizophrenia

Moira Connolly is a consultant general psychiatrist at Gartnavel Royal Hospital (Great Western Road, Glasgow G12 0XH, UK. E-mail: Moira.Connolly{at}glacomen.scot.nhs.uk) with interests in psychiatric rehabilitation and cognitive–behavioural therapy. She is an honorary senior lecturer at the Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Glasgow, where her research interests include the physical health of people with schizophrenia. Ciara Kelly is a consultant psychiatrist working in rehabilitation at Leverndale Hospital, Glasgow, with academic time spent in the Department of Psychological Medicine, Glasgow University. Her current research interests are the lifestyle, physical health and outcome of people with schizophrenia.

People with schizophrenia die prematurely. Their illness, its treatment and their lifestyle all contribute to the excess morbidity and mortality. Lifestyle ‘choices’ (e.g. poor diet, low rates of physical activity and increased likelihood to smoke cigarettes) predispose them to poor physical health and comorbid medical diseases. In addition, weight gain and obesity are a consequence of most antipsychotics, particularly the atypicals. Excessive body weight increases the risk of morbidity and mortality, and is the biggest risk factor for type II diabetes in schizophrenia. Much of the excess mortality of schizophrenia is preventable through lifestyle and risk factor modification and the treatment of common diseases, but the potential for improving outcomes in this area is only starting to be addressed.

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