Everyone Healthy Library
Schizophrenia
Condition / disease reference page from the Everyone Healthy database.
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Connected health information
Explore this condition in a clear order
Condition overview
Attributes
Incidenceis approximately 1 in 100 people
Linked signs and symptoms
5Each sign/symptom opens its own page and links back to related conditions.
Linked drugs / medications
8Medication information is educational only. A doctor or pharmacist should advise whether any medicine is appropriate.
Treatments, therapies and supportive options
13Grouped by treatment type. These are educational database links, not personal treatment recommendations. Evidence labels are shown only where stored in the EH database.
Counselling and support
6Alternative therapies
1Vitamins and minerals
2Vitamins
3Linked diagnostic tests and investigations
0No linked diagnostic tests are listed yet.
Biological markers/agents
0This visual map shows biological markers/agents reported as increased or decreased with this condition. These are educational relationships only; test results must be interpreted by a qualified clinician because ranges vary by lab, method, age, sex and clinical context.
No biological marker/agent links are listed yet for this condition.
Introduction / full article
Schizophrenia
Efficacy of Alternative and Other Treatments According to GRADE* Ranking:
Vitamin D [1, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16]:
Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help in preventing some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present. Please note, this acts as a PREVENTATIVE treatment, and not necessarily symptomatic relief.
Recommendation: No recommendation (There is insufficient evidence to support claims that Vitamin D can help prevent schizophrenia)
Grade of Evidence: very low quality of evidence
Megavitamin Therapy (Multivitamin, Vitamin Supplements) [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]:
Please Note that while supplements are effective in correcting deficiencies in the body, their long-term usage is not helpful in preventing diseases like cancer and heart disease. To prevent these illnesses one should eat the natural foods which these vitamins and minerals come from. Replacing natural sources with artificial supplements actually increases the risk of heart disease, cancer, and other diseases. Supplements should be taken only as a balanced multivitamin supplement that contains no more than 100% of the recommended daily allowance. It would be most helpful in people with restricted food intakes, pregnant women and women of childbearing age.
Recommendation: Weakly against. (There is no evidence that Megavitamin therapy can prevent or treat schizophrenia. In fact, long term therapy can lead to increased risk for other diseases)
Grade of Evidence: moderate quality of evidence
* www.gradeworkinggroup.org
Summary References
Treatments:
1. Ades T, Alteri R, Gansler T, Yeargin P, "Complete Guide to Complimentary & Alternative Cancer Therapies", American Cancer Society, Atlanta USA, 2009
2. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/orthomolecular-medicine
3. http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/163/2/192.pdf
4. http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/ortho.html
5. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/72/5/707
6. http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/no-index/about-ama/13638.shtml
7. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17327526
8. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/o/cochrane/clsysrev/articles/CD006164/frame.html
9. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10824056
10. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jcb.10338/abstract
11. http://pain-topics.org/pdf/vitamind-report.pdf
12. http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1185/030079908X253519
13. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article756975.ece
14. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17556697
15. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18065602
16. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/vitamind.html