2 - Method
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 August 2009
Summary
A search in MEDLINE (1966 – last update May 2006) was made to find epidemiological studies on the association between schizophrenia and physical illnesses. A broad search strategy had to be used to ensure that no physical illness had been missed. For this reason the MeSH term for schizophrenia was combined with the 23 MeSH terms for the general disease categories of physical diseases. If the search had been performed for each individual physical disease alone, some diseases could have easily been missed. These MeSH terms were:
Bacterial Infections and Mycoses
Virus Diseases (+ HIV)
Parasitic Diseases
Neoplasms
Musculoskeletal Diseases
Digestive System Diseases
Stomatognathic Diseases
Respiratory Tract Diseases
Otorhinolaryngologic Diseases
Diseases of the Nervous System: autoimmune diseases of the nervous system, autonomic nervous system diseases, central nervous system diseases (brain diseases, CNS infections, encephalomyelitis, high-pressure neurological syndrome, meningitis, movement disorders, ocular motility disorders, pneumocephalus, spinal cord diseases), chronobiology disorders, cranial nerve diseases, demyelinating diseases, nervous system malformations, nervous system neoplasms, neurocutaneous syndrome, neurodegenerative diseases, neurologic manifestations, neuromuscular diseases, neurotoxicity syndromes, sleep disorders, trauma, nervous system
Eye Diseases
Urologic and Male Genital Diseases
Female Genital Diseases and Pregnancy Complications
Cardiovascular Diseases
Hemic and Lymphatic Diseases
Congenital, Hereditary and Neonatal Diseases and Abnormalities
Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases
Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases
Endocrine Diseases
Immune System Diseases
Disorders of Environmental Origin
Animal diseases
Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms.
All abstracts found were read, and potentially relevant articles were ordered for more detailed inspection. The first search was made in autumn 2004; an update search was made in May 2006. The search was complemented by relevant articles mentioned in the studies and other reviews identified.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Physical Illness and SchizophreniaA Review of the Evidence, pp. 3 - 6Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2007