Balancing the Equation: Managing Comorbidities in Patients With Severe Mental Illness

Abstract

Persistent mental illnesses, notably schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, are often associated with substantial psychosocial impairment and decreased quality of life. Most individuals with these conditions are also differentially affected by chronic medical disorders that are associated with a more severe mental illness presentation, course, and outcome. The encompassing aim of these articles is to be both synthetic and synoptic. We have endeavored to synthesize extant literature that has evaluated mediating and moderating factors that contribute to the increased risk for chronic medical disorders in people with persistent mental illness. We are attempting to be synoptic insofar as the virulence of chronic medical disorders is apparent in individuals with persistent mental illness, and the standard of care in managing these patients should be guided by a chronic disease management framework with a particular emphasis on somatic health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)