Assessment and treatment of physical health problems among people with schizophrenia: national cross-sectional study.

Background: In the UK and other high-income countries, life expectancy in people with schizophrenia is 20% lower than in the general population.

Aims: To examine the quality of assessment and treatment of physical health problems in people with schizophrenia. Method Retrospective audit of records of people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder aged ⩾18. We collected data on nine key aspects of physical health for 5091 patients and combined these with a cross-sectional patient survey.

Results: Body mass index was recorded in 2599 (51.1%) patients during the previous 12 months and 1102 (21.6%) had evidence of assessment of all nine key measures. Among those with high blood sugar, there was recorded evidence of 53.5% receiving an appropriate intervention. Among those with dyslipidaemia, this was 19.9%. Despite this, most patients reported that they were satisfied with the physical healthcare they received.

Conclusions: Assessment and treatment of common physical health problems in people with schizophrenia falls well below acceptable standards. Cooperation and communication between primary and secondary care services needs to improve if premature mortality in this group is to be reduced.