The elderly demographic is on the rise - and this includes elderly living with schizophrenia. Yet very little is known about their lives, how they cope with their condition and how it develops over time.

Research in this patient-group is sparse; overall there seem to be a tendency for elderly patients to manifest fewer psychotic symptoms and experiencing an increase in the psychological quality of life with older age. Opinions are divided on the degree and extent to which this tendency reflects remission and/or recovery in older patients.

In order to identify factors associated with a positive outcome we:

• Investigate the course and the outcomes of the illness over the lifespan, as well as the life course and outcomes.
• Investigate the current status of mental and physical health, quality of life as well as functional competence of elderly (55+ yr) with schizophrenia.

Also the investigators

- Compare the trajectory and prognosis of schizophrenia (a chronic mental illness) with type 1 diabetes (a chronic somatic illness).

This study will yield vital insights into how schizophrenia develops over time, isolating factors that determine how well patients fare. The perspective is to advance knowledge of elderly with schizophrenia with a view to optimizing and increasing the effectiveness of the interventions offered to this group.

Inclusion Criteria:

Initial schizophrenia diagnosis between the ages 18-40 (both incl) in the period 1970-1979 (both incl) Interview study: Residence in Region of Southern Denmark

Exclusion Criteria:

Interview study: Mental retardation

-

Registry study: A nationwide register cohort study (1970-79) identifying psychiatric admissions (aged 18-40), who were registered with a schizophrenia diagnosis. Several Danish registers are applied.

Interview study: A cross-sectional survey where 150 randomly drawn surviving members of the register cohort resident in the Region of Southern Denmark will be interviewed on the basis of internationally validated assessment tools.