People with schizophrenia, who constitute approximately 0.3-1% of the general population, have a nearly 20% shorter life expectancy than the general population. The incidence of varied types of cancers in patients with schizophrenia is controversial. The majority of previous research has demonstrated that patients who have schizophrenia and cancer have early mortality compared to the general population with cancer. The causes of early mortality in patients with schizophrenia and cancer might be attributed to a lower cancer screening rate and lack of effective treatment, including: (i) patient factors, such as poor lifestyle, passive attitude toward treatment, or comorbidity; (ii) physician factors, such as physician bias, which may decrease the delivery of care for individuals with mental disorders; and (iii) hospital administration factors, such as stigma and discrimination. Additional studies on patients with schizophrenia and cancer are warranted and should include the following: a comprehensive review of previous studies; a focus on differentiating the specific types of cancer; and methods for improvement. To decrease the early mortality of patients with schizophrenia, the following measures are proposed: (i) enhance early detection and early treatment, such as increasing the cancer screening rate for patients with schizophrenia; (ii) provide effective, timely treatment and rehabilitation; (iii) improve patients' psychiatric symptoms and cognitive impairment; (iv) promote healthy behavior in the general population and emphasize healthy lifestyles in vulnerable populations; and (v) remove the stigma of schizophrenia. To reduce disparities in physical health, public health strategies and welfare policies must continue to focus on this group of patients.

Aims:To predict the longitudinal course of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in survivors three years following a catastrophic earthquake using multivariate data presented six months after the earthquake.Methods: Trained assistants and psychiatrists used the Disaster-related Psychological Screening Test (DRPST) to interview earthquake survivors 16 years and older and to assess current and incidental psychopathology. A total of 1756 respondents were surveyed over the three-year follow-up period.Results: A total of 38 (9.1%) of the original 418 PTSD subjects and 40 of the original 1338 (3.0%) non-PTSD subjects were identified as having PTSD at the 3-year post-earthquake follow up. Younger age, significant financial loss, and memory/attention impairment were predictive factors of unresolved PTSD and delayed PTSD. Conclusions:The longitudinal course of PTSD three years after the earthquake could be predicted as early as six months after the earthquake on the basis of demographic data, PTSD-related factors, and putative factors for PTSD.Key words: Disaster-related Psychological Screening Test, earthquake survivors, post-traumatic stress disorder. N ATURAL DISASTERS, such as earthquakes and hurricanes, and man-made disasters, such as terrorism and wars, can cause mental trauma with longlasting consequences. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in victims of natural disasters 1 and is continuing to gain attention in trauma outcome research. According to the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria, PTSD has three core psychopathologies: (i) re-experience; (ii) numbness and avoidance; and (iii) hyper arousal.The DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for PTSD allow clinicians to specify whether or not the disorder is chronic (if the symptoms have lasted three months or more) or exhibits delayed onset (if the onset of the symptoms was six months or more after the stressful event). In a systemic review, Andrews et al. found that delayed-onset PTSD in the absence of any prior symptoms was rare, whereas delayed onsets that represented exacerbations or reactivations of prior symptoms accounted on average for 38.2% and 15.3%, respectively, of military and civilian cases of PTSD. Earthquake is one of the major natural disasters of the contemporary era. 4 Risk factors for PTSD (such as demographic data, psychological factors and psychiatric symptoms) and post-trauma social resource factors have been studied by some researchers. *Correspondence: Frank Huang-Chih Chou, MD, MS, PhD, Department of Community Psychiatry, Kai-Suan Psychiatric Hospital, 130, Kai-Suan 2RD, Ling-Ya District, Kaohsiung 802, Taiwan, ROC. Email: f50911.tw@yahoo.com.tw Received 4 March 2009; revised 22 December 2009; accepted 8 March 2010. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences 2010; 64: 239-248 doi:10.1111/j.1440-1819.2010 Demographic dataSome studies examining gender differences suggest that female subjects are more likely to develop PSTD than male subjects. 5-8 A possible explanation is the specific reactions resulting f...

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ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to predict quality of life (QoL) and associated factors in patients with chronic mental illness (CMI) in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.MethodsPatients (N = 2,023; 52.9% male, 47.1% female) were recruited using cross-sectional and convenience sampling. Structured questionnaires, including a living conditions questionnaire, a psychotic symptom assessment scale, the Caregiver Burden Scale, the 5-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS-5), and the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-12 (MOS SF-12) were used to collect data.ResultsSingle-factor analyses showed that those who were single, employed, and younger had better QoL. Additionally, patients who had fewer psychological problems and lower levels of psychological distress reported better QoL. Current psychotic symptoms, especially positive symptoms, were negatively correlated with QoL. For disease factors, schizophrenic patients and hospitalized patients reported better QoL than both bipolar patients and community patients. For family factors, caregiver's attitude and caregiver's burden were negatively correlated with QoL. For social factors, unstable housing and community social dysfunction were negatively correlated with QoL. The results showed that all four dimensions (social, family, disease and personal factors) were significant predictors of the mental component summary (MCS) and physical component summary (PCS) dimensions of QoL.ConclusionsPersonal factors and disease factors were the most important predictors of QoL in CMI patients of this sample. Family factors were more important than social factors in the MCS dimension, but social factors were more important than family factors in the PCS dimension.

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