Clinical, physical, physiological, and cardiovascular risk patterns of adults with schizophrenia: CORTEX-SP study: Characterization of adults with schizophrenia

Schizophrenia (SP) is a severe mental illness with high rates of premature morbidity and mortality, associated with an unhealthy lifestyle and the side effects of drug treatment. The aims of the study were: 1) to determine some key physical, physiological and biochemical markers of health status, including sleep quality, in adults (42±10 yr) with SP (n=126), 2) to estimate cardiovascular risk (CVR), and 3) to compare all studied variables with a healthy control (HC) population (n=30). Assessment was based on body composition, blood pressure, cardiorespiratory condition, sleep quality with triaxial accelerometry for eight days and biochemical analysis. Participants with SP showed a cardiovascular risk profile including "overweight metabolically abnormal", low cardiorespiratory fitness, and impairment of ventilatory efficiency. Although individuals with SP slept more compared to HC, similar sleep efficiency was shown by both groups, but with significantly higher levels of wake after sleep onset by SP. The assessment of CVR revealed significantly higher values in SP (moderate risk) compared to HC (low risk) regardless of the estimation system. The identification of specific clinical, physical, and physiological CVR profiles in SP illness compared to healthy people strongly suggests targeting a comprehensive approach including non-pharmacological interventions. Clinical Trials.gov identifier, NCT03509597. Date of registration: April 26^th, 2018.