Caring for the Whole Person: Integrated Health Care for Older Adults with Severe Mental Illness and Medical Comorbidity.

The article provides an overview of selected research findings on the prevalence and causes of medical comorbidity in schizophrenia and other severe mental illness (SMI), and suggests directions for integrated models of care for the older person with a SMI. Schizophrenia is associated with shorter life span than for the general population. Recent research suggests that premature mortality and excess physical disability in schizophrenia is associated with a variety of extrinsic risk factors that are potentially preventable, including unhealthy lifestyles, metabolic and neurological side effects of psychiatric medications, and poor health care.