Schizophrenia and Hospital Admissions for Cardiovascular Events in a Large Population. The APNA Study.

(1) Background: Patients with schizophrenia have higher mortality, with cardiovascular diseases being the first cause of mortality. This study aims to estimate the excess risk of hospital admission for cardiovascular events in schizophrenic patients, adjusting for comorbidity and risk factors. (2) Methods: The APNA study is a dynamic prospective cohort of all residents in Navarra, Spain. 505889 people over 18 years were followed during 5 years. The endpoint was hospital admissions for a cardiovascular event. Direct Acyclic Graphs (DAG) and Cox regression were used. (3) Results: Schizophrenic patients had an HR 1.414 (1.031-1.938) of hospital admission for a cardiovascular event after adjusting for age, sex, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, smoking, low income, obesity, Charlson Index, antecedents of cardiovascular disease, and smoking. (4) Conclusions: Patients with schizophrenia have a higher risk of hospital admission for cardiovascular events than persons with the same risk factors without schizophrenia. Primary care nursing interventions should be implemented to monitor these patients and reduce cardiovascular risk factors.