Aims: Schizophrenia is associated with poor anticoagulation control and clinical prognosis in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Little is known about initiation of oral anticoagulation therapy (OAC) in this patient population.
Methods: In the nationwide Danish health registries, we identified all patients with incident AF and schizophrenia with indication for OAC treatment. Patients with schizophrenia (n = 673) were matched 1:5 on sex, age, stroke risk score, and calendar-period to incident AF patients without schizophrenia. We calculated absolute risk and risk difference (RD) of OAC initiation, adjusting for stroke and bleeding risk factors. Analyses were stratified by calendar period (2000-2011 and 2012-2018) to account for changes after the introduction of non-vitamin K OACs (NOAC).
Results: Among patients with schizophrenia (mean age 69.5 years, 50.3% females), 33.7% initiated OAC within the first year after AF diagnosis, compared with 54.4% of patients without schizophrenia, corresponding to an adjusted RD of -20.7 (95% confidence interval [CI]: -24.7 to -16.7). OAC initiation increased over time regardless of schizophrenia status. During 2000-2011, 18.3% of patients with schizophrenia and 42.9% without schizophrenia initiated OAC (adjusted RD -23.6%, 95% CI -28.8 to -18.6). During 2012-2018, this was 48.5% and 65.7%, respectively (adjusted RD -14.4%, 95% CI -20.4 to -8.4).
Conclusion: Initiation of OAC was substantially lower among patients with AF and schizophrenia compared with matched AF peers. These findings accentuate the importance of close attention to disparities in initiation of OAC treatment, and potential missed opportunities for prevention of disabling strokes in AF patients with schizophrenia.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bcp.15337 | DOI Listing |
Int J Soc Psychiatry
January 2025
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University and King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand.
Background: Patients with serious mental illness (SMI) often engage in religious and superstitious activities. The implications of such engagements remain unclear, with no established guidelines for mental health professionals.
Aims: This study aimed to survey perspectives and gather suggestions from various disciplines within mental healthcare regarding the engagement in religious/superstitious activities of SMI patients: schizophrenia spectrum disorders, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder.
Int J Soc Psychiatry
January 2025
Medical School, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece.
Background: Over the last decades the study of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders has been focused on early and comprehensive intervention during the first episode of psychosis (FEP), but studies in rural settings are only rare. In Greece mental healthcare in rural areas is mostly delivered by the locally-based Mobile Mental Health Units (MMHUs).
Aims: The aim of the present study was to address treatment of FEP patients by the MMHUs in rural areas in Greece, focusing on patients with a first episode of schizophrenia.
Int J Mol Sci
January 2025
Research Laboratory LR12ES04, Faculty of Medicine of Sousse, University of Sousse, Sousse 4002, Tunisia.
The interplay between the cytokine network and antipsychotic treatment in schizophrenia remains poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the impact of psychotropic medications on serum levels of IFN-γ, IL-4, TGF-β1, IL-17, and BAFF, and to explore their relationship with psychopathological features. We recruited 63 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia in the acute phase, all of whom were either drug-naïve or had been drug-free for at least three months.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPharmaceut Med
January 2025
New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
Background And Objectives: Drug development in schizophrenia is limited by the differential scaling of the active treatment and placebo arms of a study, such that, as the number of sites increases, the magnitude of placebo response disproportionately increases. The objective of this article was to identify factors conducive to efficient recruitment as a step towards trial designs allowing recruitment of more participants per site, leading to reduced variability, and potentially a smaller placebo effect.
Patients And Methods: Using the information of 554 individuals, we calculated the percentage of individuals who were screened, consented, and retained in our research, along with rationale for nonconsent.
Schizophrenia (Heidelb)
January 2025
Multimodal Imaging Group, Brain Health Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, ON, Canada.
Impaired insight into illness occurs in up to 98% of patients with schizophrenia, depending on the stage of illness, and leads to negative clinical outcomes. Previous neuroimaging studies suggest that impaired insight in patients with schizophrenia may be related to structural and functional anomalies in frontoparietal brain regions. To date, limited studies have investigated the association between regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) and impaired insight in schizophrenia.
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