The Relationship between 10 Years Risk of Cardiovascular Disease and Schizophrenia Symptoms: Preliminary Results

OBJECTIVE: Previous research shows that patients with schizophrenia have increased cardiovascular disease risk than general population. Increased cardiovascular risk in schizophrenia patients have been associated with many reasons such as antipsychotic drugs, genetic predisposition, andlifestyle. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between the risk of heart disease and schizophrenia symptomatology. METHODS: The 10-year cardiovascular risk was assessed by the Framingham Risk Score (FRS) in 103 patients with schizophrenia and in 39 healthy controls. Sociodemographic characteristics, age at schizophrenia onset, duration of illness, number of hospitalizations, the course of the disease and antipsychotic medications were recorded. Patients’ symptoms were evaluated via The Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS), The Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS), and Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS). RESULTS: Ten-year cardiovascular risk was 5.16% inpatients with schizophrenia, and 3.02% in control group (p=0.030). No significant correlation was found between FRS scores, SANS, SAPS, and CDSS scores. However, FRS scores were significantly correlated with age, number of hospitalizations and duration of disease (r=0.300, 0.261, 0.252, respectively). Moreover FRS scores were higher (p=0.008) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels were lower (p=0.048) in patients using multiple antipsychotics. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest a relationship between the risk of cardiovascular disease and the duration and overall severity of schizophrenia and also highlights the role of antipsychotics in this relationship.