Excess mortality and its causes among older adults with schizophrenia versus those with bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder: a 5-year prospective multicenter study.

Excess mortality observed in people with schizophrenia may persist in later life. The specific causes of increased mortality observed in older adults with schizophrenia and the potential influence of psychotropic medications remain partly unknown. We compared 5-year mortality and its causes of older adults with schizophrenia to bipolar disorder (BD) or major depressive disorder (MDD). We used a 5-year prospective cohort, including 564 older inpatients and outpatients with schizophrenia, BD or MDD (mean age: 67.9 years, SD = 7.2 years). Causes of death were cardiovascular disorder (CVD) mortality, non-CVD disease-related mortality (e.g., infections), suicide, and unintentional injury. The primary analysis was a multivariable logistic model with inverse probability weighting (IPW) to reduce the effects of confounders, including sociodemographic factors, duration and severity of the disorder, and psychiatric and non-psychiatric comorbidity. Five-year all-cause mortality among older participants with schizophrenia and with BD or MDD were 29.4% (n = 89) and 18.4% (n = 45), respectively. Following adjustments, schizophrenia compared to MDD or BD was significantly associated with increased all-cause mortality (AOR = 1.35; 95%CI = 1.04-1.76; p = 0.024) and cardiovascular mortality (AOR = 1.50; 95%CI = 1.13-1.99; p = 0.005). These associations were significantly reduced among patients taking antidepressants [interaction odds ratio (IOR) = 0.42; 95%CI = 0.22-0.79; p = 0.008 and IOR = 0.39: 95%CI = 0.16-0.94; p = 0.035, respectively]. Schizophrenia was associated with higher mortality compared to BD or MDD. Cardiovascular diseases explained most of this excess mortality. Exploratory analyses suggested that psychotropic medications did not influence this excess mortality, except for antidepressants, which were associated with significantly reduced between-group difference in all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.

A Comprehensive Model of Predictors of Recurrence or Persistence in Individuals With Panic Disorder: Results From a National 3-Year Prospective Study.

Objective: Multiple factors may influence the risk of recurrence or persistence of panic disorder, suggesting the need to combine them into an integrative model to develop more effective prevention strategies. In this report, we sought to build a comprehensive model of the 3-year risk of recurrence or persistence in individuals with panic disorder using a longitudinal, nationally representative study, the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC; Wave 1, 2001-2002; Wave 2, 2004-2005).Methods: We used structural equation modeling to simultaneously examine the effects of 5 broad groups of clinical factors previously identified as potential predictors of recurrence or persistence in adults with a past-year DSM-IV diagnosis of panic disorder (n = 775): (1) severity of panic disorder, (2) severity of comorbidity, (3) family history of psychiatric disorders, (4) sociodemographic characteristics, and (5) treatment-seeking behavior.Results: The 3-year rates of persistence and recurrence were 13.0% and 27.6%, respectively. A general psychopathology factor, representing the shared effect of all comorbid psychiatric disorders, panic disorder liability, a lower physical health-related quality of life, a greater number of stressful life events, and the absence of treatment-seeking behavior at baseline, significantly and independently predicted recurrence or persistence of symptoms between the two waves (all P < .05).Conclusions: This integrative model could help clinicians to identify individuals at high risk of recurrence or persistence of panic disorder and provide content for future research.

A comprehensive model of predictors of suicide attempt in individuals with panic disorder: Results from a national 3-year prospective study.

OBJECTIVE: People with panic disorder are at increased risk of suicide. Multiple factors influence their risk suggesting a need to combine them into an integrative model to develop more effective suicide prevention strategies for this population. In this report, we sought to build a comprehensive model of the 3-year risk of suicide attempt in individuals with panic disorder using a longitudinal nationally representative study, the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC; wave 1, 2001-2002; wave 2, 2004-2005). METHOD: We used structural equation modeling to simultaneously examine effects of six broad groups of clinical factors previously identified as potential predictors of suicide attempt in adults with panic disorder: 1) severity of panic disorder, 2) severity of comorbidity, 3) prior history of suicide attempt, 4) family history of psychiatric disorders, 5) sociodemographic characteristics and 6) treatment-seeking behavior. RESULTS: The 3-year prevalence rate of suicide attempt was 4.6%. A general psychopathology factor, lower physical health-related quality of life, prior suicide attempt and a greater number of stressful life events at baseline significantly and independently predicted suicide attempt between the two waves (p < .05). R-square of the models ranged from 0.47 to 0.50. CONCLUSION: This model may help inform future research and identify high-risk individuals among adults with panic disorder.