Unravelling the paradox of clozapine and mortality in treatment-refractory schizophrenia using electronic health recordsIndividuals with schizophrenia have an increased risk of premature death compared to the general population and die 15–25 years earlier. This situation is worse for approximately one quarter of patients with schizophrenia whose illness does not get better with standard antipsychotics: so-called treatment-refractory schizophrenia (TRS). Clozapine is the only antipsychotic known to be effective in TRS. Given that clozapine is usually prescribed in patients with more severe illness, and clozapine is known to cause a range of potentially fatal side effects, it might be assumed that treatment with clozapine would increase the risk of premature death. Remarkably, the opposite appears to be the case. Understanding this apparent paradox is crucial and is the focus of my project. Using CRIS I plan to investigate the relationship between clozapine and mortality.
Individuals with schizophrenia have an increased risk of premature death compared to the general population and die 15–25 years earlier. This situation is worse for approximately one quarter of patients with schizophrenia whose illness does not get better with standard antipsychotics: so-called treatment-refractory schizophrenia (TRS). Clozapine is the only antipsychotic known to be effective in TRS. Given that clozapine is known to cause a range of potentially fatal side effects, it might be assumed that treatment with clozapine would increase the risk of premature death. Remarkably, the opposite appears to be the case. Understanding this apparent paradox is crucial and is the focus of my project.
