A new study from Karolinska Institutet shows that severe mental illness is more common in patients with chronic kidney disease and negatively affects their health. The study has been published in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.
Patients with chronic kidney disease are 56 percent more likely to suffer from serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or major depression compared to the general population. 7.3 percent of patients have some form of serious mental illness. The study, which is based on data from the Swedish Kidney Registry, includes nearly 33,000 patients with chronic kidney disease.
"Our results show that patients with both kidney disease and mental illness have a higher mortality rate and faster deterioration of kidney function. It is important that we improve care for these patients by better identifying and treating their mental health problems," says Nanbo Zhu , postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society , Karolinska Institutet.
The study shows that people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are less likely to receive renal replacement therapy, which is a life-saving treatment. The researchers emphasise the importance of raising awareness of serious mental illness among healthcare professionals working with kidney patients and integrating mental health care into the treatment of chronic kidney disease.
"Over 10 percent of adults worldwide have chronic kidney disease, and many of these patients also have mental health problems. Previous research has mainly focused on common mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety, but our study highlights the need to also pay attention to the less common but serious mental illnesses," says Nanbo Zhu.
The next step in the research is to use real-world data to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of current pharmacological treatments for severe mental illness in kidney disease patients.
The study was funded by the Swedish Research Council, the National Institutes of Health, the Neuroscience Strategic Research Area and the Centre for Innovative Medicine.
