Behavioral and non-behavioral health-related comorbidities are higher pre-diagnosis in patients with schizophrenia than in non-schizophrenia comparators: analysis of a large commercially insured population in the United States
Poster A18, Monday, October 8, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm, Essex Ballroom
Matthew Sidovar4, Anna Wallace2, Keith Isenberg3, John Barron2, Whitney York2, Mayura Shinde2, Michael Sand1, Jessica Franchino-Elder5; 1Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 900 Ridgebury Road, Ridgefield, CT 06877, USA, 2HealthCore, Inc., 123 Justison St, Suite 200, Wilmington, DE 19801, USA, 3Anthem Inc., 1831 Chestnut Street, Saint Louis, MO 63103, USA, 4Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Ridgefield, CT 06877, USA, 5Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Ridgefield, CT 06877, USA
Schizophrenia is associated with numerous comorbidities, yet little is known about their frequency prior to diagnosis. To address this knowledge gap, this US-based retrospective study examined comorbidities in patients with schizophrenia 5 years (0–1, >1–2, >2–3, >3–4 and >4–5 years) prior to diagnosis (index date), compared with non-schizophrenia matched comparators. Claims data from the HealthCore Integrated Research Database were used to identify newly diagnosed patients with schizophrenia (ICD-9: 295.x, ICD-10: F20.x) aged 15–54 years. The schizophrenia and comparator cohorts included 6,732 and 26,928 patients, respectively. The mean Elixhauser Comorbidity Index during the year prior to index was higher for patients with schizophrenia (2.10) than matched comparators (0.47; p<0.001). For all pre-index periods, the frequency of non-behavioral health-related comorbidities, including dyslipidaemia (10.0–16.9% versus 8.1–10.9% of patients), hypertension (8.3–17.2% versus 5.8–9.0%) and ischaemic heart disease (1.1–2.0% versus 0.5–0.8%), was higher in patients with schizophrenia than matched comparators, respectively. There was a greater difference in behavioral health–related comorbidities, including bipolar disorder (schizophrenia: 14.2–32.0%; comparators: 0.4–0.7%), depression (schizophrenia: 18.4–42.3%; comparators: 3.9–5.1%) and anxiety disorder (schizophrenia: 13.2–29.4%; comparators: 3.9–5.3%). Up to 5 years prior to diagnosis, patients with schizophrenia have a higher frequency of both behavioral health– and non–behavioral health–related comorbidities compared with matched comparators. This study improves our understanding of the overall health status of clinically high-risk patients who go on to develop schizophrenia. Funding: Boehringer Ingelheim.
Topic Area: Diagnosis and Phenomenology