Schizophrénie du sujet âgé : particularités cliniques, cognitives et sociales

Patterns of care offered to schizophrenic patients have evolved during the last decades. The psychosocial and pharmaceutical developments, associated with the demographic progression of the general population have led to an increase in life expectancy and quality of life of these patients. Today, the prevalence of elderly schizophrenic subjects is between 0.1 and 0.5% of the general population. These subjects do not present the same psychopathology as the younger schizophrenic population, with deteriorated cognitive functions associated with somatic diseases and greater disability than the population of their age. We propose a review of the literature on the clinical, cognitive and psychosocial specificities of this rising population in order to elaborate on our reflections and individualised care.