Table 1.
Antemortem demographic and clinical characteristics of the study cohort
| Group; mean (SEM)* | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Characteristic | Control | Bipolar disorder | Schizophrenia |
| No. of patients | 34 | 31 | 34 |
| Age at death, yr | 43.8 (1.3) | 44.9 (2.0) | 42.3 (1.4) |
| PMI, h | 29.5 (2.2) | 36.6 (3.3) | 31.9 (2.7) |
| Brain pH | 6.6 (0.05) | 6.5 (0.05) | 6.5 (0.04) |
| Sex, male:female | 25:9 | 15:16 | 25:9 |
| Cause of death | |||
| Suicide | 0 | 14 | 7 |
| Other | 34 | 17 | 27 |
| No. of patients with prescribed antidepressants† | 0 | 18 | 8 |
| No. of patients with prescribed antipsychotics | 0 | 19 | 34 |
| Lifetime antipsychotics (fluphenazine equivalents, g) | 0 | 10.3 (4.36) | 85.7 (17.45) |
| Lifetime drug abuse, no. | |||
| Little or none | 29 | 9 | 13 |
| Social | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Moderate past | 0 | 6 | 3 |
| Moderate present | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Heavy past | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| Heavy present | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| Unknown | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Lifetime alcohol use, no. | |||
| Little or none | 18 | 4 | 10 |
| Social | 11 | 7 | 6 |
| Moderate past | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| Moderate present | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Heavy past | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Heavy present | 0 | 7 | 9 |
| Unknown | 0 | 1 | 0 |
PMI = postmortem interval; SEM = standard error of the mean.
*
Unless otherwise indicated.
†
Antidepressant drugs prescribed varied by patient and included fluoxetine, trazodone, doxepin, paroxetine, amitriptyline, mirtazapine, venlafaxine, sertraline, fluvoxamine and bupropion.