Social environment and longevity in schizophrenia

Objective: The role of social support as a predictor of long-term survival among patients with schizophrenia was examined. Methods: Social histories w ere abstracted from the medical records of a cohort of 133 deceased schizop hrenic patients admitted for inpatient treatment between 1934 and 1944. Two independent raters assessed the quantity and quality of support available in each patient's social environment. Results: Cox regression analysis reve aled that higher quantity of social support was significantly related to su rvival time (p < .05) after controlling for marital status and quality of s upport. The Cox model indicated that a 1-point increase in the support quan tity rating was associated with a proportional 25% decrease in the hazard r ate. Conclusions: The present findings suggest that social environment, spe cifically the quantity of social support available to the patient, may impa ct longevity in psychiatric populations.