Schizophrenia and the incidence of cardiovascular morbidity: a population-based longitudinal study in Ontario, Canada.

Objective: Despite the high rates of cardiovascular mortality among people with schizophrenia, little is known about the incidence of cardiovascular morbidity in this population. We assessed whether individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, in comparison to a population-proxy comparison group (comprised of individuals receiving an appendicitis-related primary diagnosis), would have a significantly greater risk of subsequent readmission to an inpatient or Emergency Department setting with a cardiovascular condition.

Design: Using inpatient hospital discharge records from April 1, 2002 to March 31, 2006 in Ontario, Canada, we constructed a population-based cohort study of patients who were followed for a period up to 4 years.