Physical diseases in schizophrenia and affective disorder

Studies of the increased or decreased risk of specific physical diseases in patients with schizophrenia and affective disorder are reviewed. Existing data suggest further examination of the following relationships: (1) the presence in schizophrenics of increased incidence of gastrointestinal cancer and of cardiovascular and infectious diseases, and of decreased incidence of lung cancer and rheumatoid arthritis; and (2) the increased incidence of circulatory, respiratory, and atopic diseases, and of diabetes mellitus among patients with major affective disorder. A majority of the studies reviewed failed to meet methodologic standards necessary to provide conclusive evidence. An ongoing research project which generally meets these standards, the Oxford Record Linkage Study, is described.