Death Rates Among Schizophrenic Patients: The Impact of Medication

Abstract

Controversy surrounds the potential long-term impact of psychotropic medications on mortality. Researchers examined Swedish registry data to obtain 5-year death rates among 21,492 patients with schizophrenia receiving no, low, moderate, or high cumulative doses of antipsychotics, antidepressants, or benzodiazepines (baseline mean age, 46; illness duration, 70 months); 61% were male, and 53% had psychiatric hospitalization histories. Overall, 6711 patients received medications from all three classes; 8079 received medications in two classes; and …