Average life expectancy with schizophrenia According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the decline in life expectancy among people with more severe mental illness ranges from 10–25 years . Most studies of schizophrenia show a life expectancy reduction of 10–20 years.
Schizophrenia itself isn't life-threatening. But people who have it are more likely to have other health conditions that raise their chances of death. The 2015 study found that heart disease was the top cause of death in people with schizophrenia, accounting for about a quarter of all cases.
People with schizophrenia often die at a considerably younger age than the rest of the population. Reasons for this include: late diagnosis and poor treatment of physical illnesses, metabolic side effects of antipsychotic medication, unhealthy lifestyle and high risk of suicide (reviewed by Laursen et al, 2014).
If left untreated, schizophrenia can worsen at any age, especially if you continue to experience episodes and symptoms. Typically, early onset schizophrenia in the late teens tends to be associated more with severe symptoms than later-life onset.
Avoid using marijuana, alcohol, nicotine, cocaine or other stimulants, and street drugs. They can keep antipsychotic drugs from working well. They can also cause paranoia or make it worse.
Older adults with schizophrenia have significant cognitive deficits in executive functioning, speed of processing, attention/vigilance, working memory, verbal learning, visual learning, reasoning, and problem-solving.
Most people with schizophrenia are harmless to others. They're more likely to hurt themselves than anybody else. Sometimes that includes trying to take their own life. You should take any suicidal talk seriously, and pay attention to poems, notes, or any other things your loved one creates that are about death.
Most patients will get better but still have occasional episodes, but about 20 percent will recover within five years. As a psychotic condition, schizophrenia can cause some very troubling symptoms, like hallucinations and delusions, that make daily life challenging.
Dementia is commonly found in chronic schizophrenic patients who underestimate their ages by 5 years or more, a symptom known as “age disorientation”.
Prevalence estimates also show prominent variation. The median lifetime morbid risk for schizophrenia was 7.2/1,000 persons.
Drug and alcohol use
If you already have schizophrenia, research shows that using recreational drugs may worsen your symptoms. Some studies suggest that people who use high-potency cannabis ('skunk') when in recovery are more likely to have a relapse too.
Schizophrenia does not typically get better as you get older. The symptoms of schizophrenia may become worse over time, or they may remain the same for some people. Schizophrenia is a chronic illness that can be managed with medication and therapy, but it does not typically go away as you get older.
Today, the largest single cause of death in schizophrenia is cardiovascular disease (CVD) (2, 3), similar to the general population.
Psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia can sometimes be associated with aggressive or violent behavior. People living with schizophrenia are no more violent or dangerous than the rest of the population, if they are: receiving effective treatment. not misusing alcohol or drugs.
The predominant causes of mortality in schizophrenia are now well recognised to be cardiovascular, unnatural deaths (including suicide), respiratory and cancer related.
Left untreated, schizophrenia can result in severe problems that affect every area of life. Complications that schizophrenia may cause or be associated with include: Suicide, suicide attempts and thoughts of suicide. Anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
The exact causes of schizophrenia are unknown. Research suggests a combination of physical, genetic, psychological and environmental factors can make a person more likely to develop the condition. Some people may be prone to schizophrenia, and a stressful or emotional life event might trigger a psychotic episode.
Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. People with schizophrenia may seem like they have lost touch with reality, which can be distressing for them and for their family and friends.
People with schizophrenia experience difficulties in remembering their past and envisioning their future. However, while alterations of event representation are well documented, little is known about how personal events are located and ordered in time.
What Is Late-Onset Schizophrenia? Late-onset schizophrenia is a mental illness found in individuals age 45 or older. People with this mental illness can experience hallucinations, delusions, have trouble thinking clearly, and show extreme behavioral changes.
Eduard Einstein
The youngest child of Albert Einstein was studying medicine when he was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 20. He spent many years in and out of a psychiatric clinic in Zurich, Switzerland.