Zeitschrift für Suchtforschung und -therapie

Abstrakt

Physical Health and Schizophrenia in Clinical Practice Guidelines and Consensus Statements

Laia Mas-Expósito, Adriana Eugenia Mazo, Maite San Emeterio, Merce Teixido and Lluis Lalucat Jo

Research about the epidemiology of physical health problems in schizophrenia, as well as the development of consensus statements and recommendations to deal with it, has increased in recent years. The objective of this study is to identify, review and compare the clinical practice guidelines and consensus statements on physical health problems in people with schizophrenia that have developed over the last five years. We conducted a computerized search in PubMed of the literature regarding the management of schizophrenia. We identified 8 clinical practice guidelines or expert consensus statements, including recommendations for monitoring the physical health of people with schizophrenia. We extracted descriptive information from each article and established the level of consensus between them regarding the physical health parameters that they recommend monitoring. Most of the studies identified were conducted by multidisciplinary groups from European countries between 2010 and 2012. Their recommendations were agreed upon and evidence based and all of them concurred in that the study population is especially vulnerable to physical illness. Although there was a high degree of agreement on most of the physical health parameters that they recommend monitoring, their degree of agreement regarding regular check-ups, including blood tests and renal, hepatic and thyroid function tests, was low. This lack of agreement may be related to the specificity of their approach. There is a need to include all components of physical health as a key part of the management of schizophrenia, which requires comprehensive guidelines and systematic and evidence-based assessments and interventions, but also changes in care professionals’ attitudes, stigma and the organization of health care services.