TY - JOUR
T1 - Brugada Syndrome ECG Is Highly Prevalent in Schizophrenia
AU - Blom, Marieke T.
AU - Cohen, Dan
AU - Seldenrijk, Adrie
AU - Penninx, Brenda W. J. H.
AU - Nijpels, Giel
AU - Stehouwer, Coen D. A.
AU - Dekker, Jacqueline M.
AU - Tan, Hanno L.
PY - 2014/6
Y1 - 2014/6
N2 - Background The causes of increased risk of sudden cardiac death in schizophrenia are not resolved. We aimed to establish (1) whether ECG markers of sudden cardiac death risk, in particular Brugada-ECG pattern, are more prevalent among patients with schizophrenia, and (2) whether increased prevalence of these ECG markers in schizophrenia is explained by confounding factors, notably sodium channel-blocking medication. Methods and Results In a cross-sectional study, we analyzed ECGs of a cohort of 275 patients with schizophrenia, along with medication use. We determined whether Brugada-ECG was present and assessed standard ECG measures (heart rate, PQ-, QRS-, and QT-intervals). We compared the findings with nonschizophrenic individuals of comparable age (the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety [NESDA] cohort; N=179) and, to account for assumed increased aging rate in schizophrenia, with individuals 20 years older (Hoorn cohort; n=1168), using multivariate regression models. Brugada-ECG was significantly more prevalent in the schizophrenia cohort (11.6%) compared with NESDA controls (1.1%) or Hoorn controls (2.4%). Moreover, patients with schizophrenia had longer QT-intervals (410.9 versus 393.1 and 401.9 ms; both P
AB - Background The causes of increased risk of sudden cardiac death in schizophrenia are not resolved. We aimed to establish (1) whether ECG markers of sudden cardiac death risk, in particular Brugada-ECG pattern, are more prevalent among patients with schizophrenia, and (2) whether increased prevalence of these ECG markers in schizophrenia is explained by confounding factors, notably sodium channel-blocking medication. Methods and Results In a cross-sectional study, we analyzed ECGs of a cohort of 275 patients with schizophrenia, along with medication use. We determined whether Brugada-ECG was present and assessed standard ECG measures (heart rate, PQ-, QRS-, and QT-intervals). We compared the findings with nonschizophrenic individuals of comparable age (the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety [NESDA] cohort; N=179) and, to account for assumed increased aging rate in schizophrenia, with individuals 20 years older (Hoorn cohort; n=1168), using multivariate regression models. Brugada-ECG was significantly more prevalent in the schizophrenia cohort (11.6%) compared with NESDA controls (1.1%) or Hoorn controls (2.4%). Moreover, patients with schizophrenia had longer QT-intervals (410.9 versus 393.1 and 401.9 ms; both P
KW - Brugada Syndrome
KW - electrocardiography
KW - schizophrenia
U2 - 10.1161/CIRCEP.113.000927
DO - 10.1161/CIRCEP.113.000927
M3 - Article
C2 - 24591540
SN - 1941-3149
VL - 7
SP - 384
EP - 391
JO - Circulation-Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology
JF - Circulation-Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology
IS - 3
ER -