Years of potential life lost in schizophrenia and mental health: changes in mortality due to non-genetic healthcare and lifestyle factors

Schizophrenia is a devastating and complex disorder, which impacts normal brain functions, creating mental disarray, including hallucinations, delusions, cognitive deficits, and paranoia. This disorder, while debilitating to the quality of life for the patient, also presents confounding implications for the application of a coherent body of care from medical professionals because of the complex interaction between the psychiatric and psychological affectations of this disorder and the contemporaneous illnesses that additionally threaten patients’ health. Failure to diagnose and effectively treat the comorbid conditions represents a barrier to successful care for these patients. The interaction between illnesses which exist simultaneously in one patient affects the prognosis, complicates treatment and outcomes, and impacts the cost of care. This study juxtaposes historical findings and contemporary research as they pertain to the multitude of simultaneous conditions affecting schizophrenia patients. While oftentimes addressed as independently occurring in earlier studies, schizophrenic comorbid afflictions are correlated to drug interactions, patient self-medication, and lifestyle in contemporary research, signaling increased opportunities for intervention from medical professionals. Further, a heretofore untapped prospect exists to develop a therapeutic approach based on the knowledge that one such comorbid factor – schizophrenic patients’ nicotine dependence, which could indicate an undeveloped treatment option. That is, whether the amplified use of nicotine by schizophrenia patients highlights an opportunity to address sensory insufficiencies in these patients by formulating substitute medications which can concomitantly improve sensory processing deficits, stimulating the release of dopamine as nicotine does, without inhaling the many harmful ingredients present in tobacco which are well-known to cause coronary heart disease, circulatory problems and stroke, and lung ailments, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis. An argument for pursuing this opportunity is also discussed herein.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical reference