Factors Influencing Elevated Mortality Rates of Patients with Schizophrenia Hospitalized with COVID

Abstract

Work completed since the pandemic began has repeatedly demonstrated elevated mortality rates in people with schizophrenia hospitalized with COVID. They are a vulnerable group due to multiple issues—for example high co-morbidity rates of medical illness, often impaired insight and judgment, barriers to obtaining health care, and trouble understanding and implementing preventive measures. The objective of this study was to evaluate if a diagnosis of schizophrenia in the context of COVID-19 requiring hospitalization increased the risk for people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia to be intubated, admitted to the ICU or die when compared to people hospitalized with COVID-19 who did not have schizophrenia. This was accomplished by doing a retrospective chart review of 123 people with schizophrenia and matched controls. Although we found elevated rates of these outcomes in the patients with schizophrenia, our analysis attributed these differences to congregate living, rather than the illness itself.