Risks to Health Appear Early in the Course of Psychosis

Psychotic illnesses adversely impact morbidity and mortality, but little is known about when this impact begins and what causes it. To learn more, investigators examined data regarding three patient groups — 23,415 patients with a first diagnosis of nonpsychotic unipolar depression, 33,576 general outpatients, and 11,713 patients with a first lifetime diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorder, psychotic mood disorder, or other psychotic disorder (age range, 16–30). All participants were enrolled in a national integrated health system.

After adjustment for race/ethnicity and medical comorbidity, all-cause mortality in the first year of psychotic illness was 7 times higher than in general medical patients and 2.5 times higher than in patien…