Adults with Schizophrenia at Greater Risk of Premature Death

That is the title of this article I am writing about. "Adults with schizophrenia are 3.5 times more likely to die prematurely, particularly from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, compared to the average population, according to a new study published online by JAMA Psychiatry.  Many factors contribute to the risk of premature death, including economic disadvantage, negative health behaviors, and difficulty accessing and adhering to medical treatments. Specifically, the following harmful traits are more common in those with schizophrenia than in the general population: smoking, limited physical activity, obesity, elevated blood glucose level, hypertension, and dyslipidemia (abnormal amount of lipids, such as fat or cholesterol, in the blood)."I wonder is it the antipsychotic drugs we take that could cause respiratory diseases. I wonder because I am going through something with my lungs right now.  About a month ago I was diagnosed with walking pneumonia.  Now I have to go see a  lung specialist because it has not left my lungs. I do not smoke and have not smoked in seventeen years.
The article goes on to say: "Among the 65,553 deaths with a known cause, 55,741 were from natural causes, which include a variety of diseases, and 9,812 were due to unnatural deaths, which included suicide, homicide assault, and accidents, both poisoning and non-poisoning, according to the results.
Cardiovascular disease had the highest mortality rate and accounted for almost one-third of all natural deaths. Cancer accounted for about one in six deaths. Among the other natural causes of death, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, influenza, and pneumonia had the highest mortality rates.  Unnatural causes of death accounted for about one in seven deaths with known causes, with suicide accounting for about one-quarter of the unnatural deaths. Accidents accounted for more than twice as many deaths as suicide."This is disturbing news for me. I do not want to go back on disability.  I hope I have good news tomorrow at the lung doctor.
The article ends with: "Nonsuicidal substance-induced death, mostly from alcohol or other drugs, also was a leading cause of death.  Limitations noted by the authors include not having information about key health risk factors such as smoking status, body mass index, and substance abuse.

“The results from this study confirm a marked excess of deaths in schizophrenia, particularly from cardiovascular and respiratory disease, that is evident in early adulthood and persists into later life,” writes Mark Olfson, M.D., M.P.H., of Columbia University, New York, and coauthors.
'Especially high risks of mortality were observed from diseases for which tobacco use is a key risk factor. These findings support efforts to train mental health care professionals in tobacco use prevention and treatment and in implementation of policies that incentivize smoking control interventions in settings treating patients with schizophrenia.'"That would make me give up smoking if I still smoked this is serious business. Like I have said before I have grand kids I want to see grow up.