Communication difficulty of patients with schizophrenia and physical illness

Our study was done to determine whether patients with schizophrenia and a coexisting physical disorder could adequately discuss the physical illness with a physician. We defined the minimal standard of adequate communication as the ability to acknowledge and name a physical problem during an index hospitalization. Of the 110 patients studied, 38 had a total of 54 medical illnesses (diabetes mellitus, hyponatremia, thyroid disorder, urinary tract infection, bladder dysfunction, hypertension, anemia, liver disorder, and seizure disorder). After two years of follow-up, 28 of these 38 patients agreed to participate in the second part of the study. Upon interview, 24 patients were unable to name at least one of their physical problems. This study reproduces the previous findings of psychiatric patients' difficulty in communicating about physical illness. It suggests that the communication difficulty is constant and not lessened in the nonacute situation.