The following is a summary of “Comparison of medical treatment of patients with schizophrenia in general practitioners’ clinics versus mental health clinics: A cohort study,” published in the August 2023 issue of the Psychosomatic Research by Gur et al.

Individuals with schizophrenia have more cardiometabolic comorbidities than the general population, have a life expectancy that is approximately twenty years shorter, and utilize more medical services. They are treated in available practitioner clinics or mental health clinics. In this cohort study, we examined the relationship between the patient’s primary treatment setting, cardiometabolic comorbidities, and utilization of medical services. 

From 1.1.2011 to 31.12.2012, demographics, healthcare services utilization, cardiometabolic comorbidities, and medication prescriptions of patients with schizophrenia were retrieved from an electronic database and compared between patients treated predominantly in mental health clinics (MHCs) (N = 260) and general practitioners’ clinics (GPCs) (N = 115). GPC patients tended to be older (mean age 39.8 ±13.7 vs. 34.6 ±12.2 years, P<0.0001), have a lower socioeconomic status (42.6% vs. 24.0%, P = 0.001), and have more cardiometabolic diagnoses (hypertension: 19.1% vs. 10.8%; diabetes mellitus: 25.2% vs. 17.0%, P<0.05). The former received more medications for cardiometabolic disorders and utilized more secondary and tertiary care. 

The GPC group had a higher Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) than the MHC group (1.8 ±1.9 vs. 1.2 ±1.6, P<0.0001). A multivariate binary logistic regression analysis, adjusted for age, sex, SES, and CCI, revealed that the MHC group had a lower adjusted odds ratio of visiting an EMD, a specialist, or being hospitalized than the GPC group. The current study emphasizes the critical significance of integrating GPCs and MHCs, providing patients with combined physical and mental care in one location. More research is required to determine the potential health benefits of such integration for patients.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022399923002404