Risk for Autoimmune Disease Increases After Psychotic Illness

Considerable literature suggests that autoimmune diseases confer risk for schizophrenia and related psychoses, partly attributed to inflammatory processes and infections causing neuropsychiatric difficulties (NEJM JW Psychiatry Jan 9 2012). In a first-of-its-kind, partly industry-supported study, the current researchers used large Danish registries to ascertain whether the reverse might be true — i.e., whether schizophrenia or related psychoses confer risk for subsequent autoimmune disorders; 30 types of autoimmune disorders were examined (39,364 patients with schizophrenia-like psychoses from 1987 [or age 10 years] through 2010; 142,328 patients with autoimmune disease).

Having a schizophrenia-like psychosis increased the risk for one or mo…