People with schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders are more likely to experience additional health problems and are more likely to die at a younger age than people without mental health problems. Most of the causes of early death in people with psychotic disorders are preventable, including cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and diabetes.
This study used linked data from a large sample of people with schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders in NSW to understand what physical health problems people with these mental illnesses have, how they access health services for these conditions, other complicating factors and how these may relate to negative outcomes including avoidable deaths. This will inform the development of specific strategies that will allow health services to better meet the needs of people with psychotic disorders.
Project aims
The aims of our project were to:
- Establish and characterise a population-based cohort of individuals with psychotic disorders in NSW, including physical and mental health comobordities, and related service use.
- Determine the predictors of death in people with psychotic disorders, with a specific focus on predictors of potentially avoidable deaths.
- Build a large linked dataset of people with schizophrenia and related psychosis for future study.
Project members
Prof Julian Trollor, Dr Rachael Cvejic, A/Prof Phil Ward, Dr Preeyaporn Srasuebkul, Dr Simone Reppermund, Dr Jackie Curtis, Prof Katherine Samaras (St Vincent’s Hospital), Dr Julia Lappin, A/Prof Kimberlie Dean, Dr Adrian Walker
Resources
- Information for people with lived experience of psychotic disorders
- Information for GPs and health professionals
Academic publications from this project
- The health service contact patterns of people with psychotic and non-psychotic forms of severe mental illness in New South Wales, Australia: a record linkage study. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 2022, 56(6):675-685. doi: 10.1177/00048674211031483
- Hospital service utilisation of people previously hospitalised with different subtypes of psychotic disorder: A record linkage study. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 2023, 57(6) 844-853, doi: 10.1177/00048674221115642
