The study reviewed here found that people diagnosed with schizophrenia were 3 times more likely to develop colon cancer and about 50% more likely to develop breast cancer compared to people without schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that can make it hard for a person to think clearly and distinguish what's real from fantasy. People with schizophrenia also might have a hard time managing their emotions, making decisions (even simple ones), and relating to other people. Schizophrenia affects about 1% of all adults. Medications can often control the symptoms of schizophrenia but most people living with this disease will experience some symptoms throughout their life.
Because schizophrenia can affect the choices people make about what to eat and other lifestyle factors such as drinking alcohol and smoking, this study was careful to compare people with similar lifestyles. Like some other mental illnesses, doctors believe that genetic differences affect brain chemistry in people who are diagnosed with schizophrenia. These genetic differences also might explain why some cancers were more likely in people diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Sometimes the challenges of caring for one’s own mental illness or assisting a loved one with serious mental illness can push routine physical check-ups to the back burner. This study makes it clear that physical health care -- including breast health -- needs to go hand in hand with mental health care. Studies show that regular breast self-exams and an annual exam by a doctor improve the chances of detecting cancer early.
Ideally, a breast self-exam should be done every month. If a person diagnosed with schizophrenia can't do a self-exam, a trusted and capable friend or family member could do the exam. If this isn't an option, more frequent breast examinations by a doctor or nurse might be another option. Annual screening mammograms should be done starting at age 40, or younger if the person is at high risk. Some people with schizophrenia can have a hard time getting organized and sticking to a schedule. They might need help scheduling a mammogram and getting to an imaging center. If you have schizophrenia and are managing your health on your own, don’t hesitate to get help from friends, family, and medical professionals if or when you need that help.
Visit the breastcancer.org Screening and Testing section to learn more about where and how to get a mammogram.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Compared with the general population, patients with schizophrenia appear to have an elevated risk of colon cancer and a lower risk of respiratory cancer, according to a report in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
"More research is needed, and the long-term safety of antipsychotics needs further investigation," Dr. Julia Hippisley-Cox from the University of Nottingham, England told Reuters Health.
Hippisley-Cox and colleagues compared the risks of six common cancers between patients with and without schizophrenia and in patients with bipolar disorder, who have similar lifestyle characteristics as patients with schizophrenia.
The analysis was based on 40,441 cases of breast, colon, rectal, gastroesophageal, prostate and respiratory cancer, matched to up to five comparison subjects.
Compared with patients without schizophrenia, the schizophrenic patients had a nearly three-fold risk of colon cancer and a 52 percent increased risk of breast cancer, but a 48 percent decreased risk of respiratory, the authors report.
The risks did not differ between patients with and without schizophrenia for rectal, gastroesophageal or prostate cancer.
Patients with bipolar disorder did not have a significantly increased or decreased risk for any of the cancers studied.
The risk of colon cancer (but not breast cancer) was increased by more than four-fold among schizophrenic patients who were also prescribed antipsychotic medications, the investigators report, whereas the reduction in respiratory cancer was most marked in the subgroup of patients not taking antipsychotic medications, with a 86 percent decreased risk.
"The higher rate of some common cancers in people with schizophrenia emphasizes the need for proactive monitoring of their physical health," the authors conclude. "If there is an inherently higher risk of some cancers in people with schizophrenia, it is particularly important to minimize any additional risks associated with lifestyle or prescribed medications."
SOURCE: Archives of General Psychiatry, December 2007.
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