Schizophrenia patients show a higher dementia risk and lower cancer risk: Study
Schizophrenia patients are more likely to develop dementia and less likely to develop cancer, compared to people without the mental disorder. The researchers followed over 30,000 older adults for a decade and concluded that dementia rates were higher among people with schizophrenia.
Study lead Hugh Hendrie said, “Individuals with serious mental illnesses including schizophrenia appear to be living longer than earlier estimates suggested. This good news is tempered by the fact that they now have to confront the major disorders of the elderly, including dementia. Our finding that there was a significant difference in rates of dementia for those with schizophrenia and those without the disorder was quite unexpected. The reason for this difference is unclear and merits more intensive investigation. Is this related to an increase in dementia-related brain pathology or could it simply represent a misinterpretation of their symptoms by clinicians inexperienced in dealing with individuals who have difficulties communicating and are less likely to have reliable significant others to interpret for them?” Continue reading…
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are more common in schizophrenia patients experiencing relapse. In fact, the risk of developing a UTI during schizophrenic relapse is 29 times higher than for healthy individuals.
The study looked at the rates of UTIs in 57 relapsed hospital patients, 40 stable outpatients, and 39 healthy controls. The findings showed that 35 percent of the relapsed patients had UTIs, compared to only five and three percent for the outpatients and healthy controls, respectively.
Schizophrenic relapses often cause delusions and other symptoms that affect personal hygiene and hydration, the two factors that can affect the risk of UTIs. On the other hand, urinary tract infections have been found to be a trigger for relapse. Continue reading…
A new discovery has revealed that there could be a link between hypothyroidism during pregnancy and the risk of schizophrenia in offspring.
According to a study conducted by experts at Columbia University Medical Center, The New York State Psychiatric Institute, and Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, low levels of thyroxine (hormone secreted by the thyroid gland) in pregnant women – commonly called hypothroxinemia – are linked to abnormalities in cognitive development that mimic schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia is a long-term mental disorder that breaks down thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to inappropriate perceptions, actions, and feelings. People who suffer from schizophrenia can be delusional and are likely to withdraw from personal relationships. Continue reading…
Schizophrenia symptoms are triggered by sleep deprivation and irregular sleep patterns. If a healthy person goes without sleep for 24 hours, this can trigger symptoms similar to schizophrenia. The researchers from the University of Bonn, Germany, and King’s College in London, U.K., suggest that the findings should be examined further, especially for those who work during the night.
During psychosis, there is a loss of reality, which is associated with hallucinations and delusions. The chronic version of this is known as schizophrenia, which is also associated with the hearing of voices in one’s head. Professor Dr. Ulrich Ettinger said, “”It was clear to us that a sleepless night leads to impairment in the ability to concentrate. But we were surprised at how pronounced and how wide the spectrum of schizophrenia-like symptoms was.” Continue reading…
Yeast infection in men is linked to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. A recent study found that male yeast infections may prelude a diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder as a result of exposure to infectious viruses or parasites affecting their behavior.
There is growing evidence that schizophrenia may be a result of an overactive immune system. The most recent findings uncovered that there is a protein that tells the brain to remove certain neural connections during childhood, increasing the risk of developing schizophrenia later on in life. Other studies have shown that higher activity among microglia, which are a type of cells that act as the body’s first line of defense. Researchers concluded that overactive microglia harm the brain by destroying connections. Continue reading…