Detection and Treatment of Somatic Disease in Patients With Severe Mental Disease

Summary

In Denmark, around 2 % of the population live with severe mental disease. People with severe mental disease live 15-20 years less than the general population. The majority of the years of life lost are a consequence of the excess mortality due to somatic disease. The high prevalence of somatic disease among people with severe mental disease can be largely attributed to physical inactivity, unhealthy diet and side effects from psychopharmacological drugs. Apart from the impacts of unhealthy lifestyle and medication side effects, research suggests that individuals with severe mental disease do not receive the same treatment for their somatic diseases as do the rest of the population. The inequality in diagnostics and treatment can be attributed to stigmatization from healthcare providers and patients' lacking awareness of symptoms and reluctance to seek medical care. Further, the increasing specialization within both somatic and psychiatric care has led to a division between these two treatment systems (8,9). Patients with severe mental disease who simultaneously have one or more somatic diseases need their treatment to be coordinated; such treatment should span general practice, the municipality and the psychiatric and somatic hospital. Accordingly, the following elements are necessary to create effective and coordinated treatment trajectories: detailed preparation, qualitative process evaluation as an integrated part of the courses of treatment, and involvement of all stakeholders from the start.

The overall aim of the project is to optimize the detection of selected chronic somatic diseases, including cardiovascular disease (ischaemia and heart failure), diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol, in individuals with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder or bipolar disorder; to initiate medical treatment; and to ensure treatment compliance among patients.

Accordingly, the project has the following objectives:

* To develop an intervention targeting individuals with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder or bipolar disorder that can optimize the detection of selected chronic somatic diseases, including cardiovascular disease (ischaemia and heart failure), diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol
* To test whether the developed intervention can optimize the detection of cardiovascular disease (ischaemia and heart failure), diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol in individuals with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder or bipolar disorder

The project's hypotheses are that an interdisciplinary and intersectoral intervention targeting individuals with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder or bipolar disorder can

* optimize detection of cardiovascular diseases (ischaemia and cardiac insufficiency), diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol by systematic screening in general practice
* lead to initiation and maintenance of relevant medical treatment. Moreover, we hypothesize that the complete intervention in a long-term perspective will lead to decreased mortality within the target group.

Conditions

• Ischemia
• Cardiac Insufficiency
• Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2
• Hypertension
• Hypercholesterolemia
• Severe Mental Disorder

Interventions

OTHER

Screening

Each individual general practitioner reviews his/her record system and detects patients who meet the inclusion criteria. Patients who meet these criteria will be invited to participate in the project.

OTHER

Treatment

Patients who are diagnosed with one or more of the selected somatic diseases receive an individualized course of treatment in general practice, primarily focusing on initiation and maintenance of medical treatment, and complying with current clinical guidelines and course programmes. Treatment goals are set in active co-operation with the patient and his/her family and with supervision and support from the Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, clinical pharmacologists and relevant staff from the municipality in terms of contact/support persons.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The City of Copenhagen

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Mental Health Services in the Capital Region, Denmark

  collaborator OTHER

• Research Unit Of General Practice, Copenhagen

  collaborator OTHER

• Bispebjerg Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• Intersectoral Research Unit for Health Services

  lead OTHER_GOV

Principal Investigators

• Ane F Bendix, MD · Intersectoral Research Unit for Health Services

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

SCREENING

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

36 Years

Max Age

65 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2018-04-30

Primary Completion

2019-04-30

Completion

2019-12-31