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S012-3

Comparison of Medical Morbidity Between Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia
in Late Life

Pao-Huan Chen

Taipei Medical University & Hospital, Taiwan

Background/Objective: Older patients with bipolar disorder (BD) and schizophrenia (SZ) have
higher medical morbidity and mortality compared with the general geriatric population. However,
the difference in medical morbidity between older patients with BD and SZ remains unclear.

Method: We recruited patients with BD or SZ (DSM-IV) aged over 50 years. Medical illness burden
was evaluated with the Cumulative Illness Rating Scale for Geriatrics (CIRS-G) by means of
reviewing medical records and directly interviewing patients.

Result: There were 75 BD patients with mean age of 60.2± 8.6 years and 114 SZ ones with 57.7 7.9
years old in this study. The CIRS-G total scores for BD patients were significantly higher than those
of schizophrenic ones (6.2± 3.4 versus 4.8± 3.4, p=0.01). The BD group had significantly higher
medical morbidity of cardiac/ vascular (64.4%), hepatobiliary (52.1%), genitourinary (49.3%), and
musculoskeletal systems (32.9%) than SZ group.

Conclusion: Cardiovascular diseases are common in patients with BD and SZ in late life. Older BD
patients tend to have an even higher medical illness burden than SZ ones. Given the bidirectional
relationship between physical and mental function, integrated care that addresses medical and
psychiatric illness together is needed to optimize health outcomes for this vulnerable group of
patients.