Adequacy of Treatment for Patients With Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders and Affective Disorders in Lombardy, Italy

Objective:This study assessed whether patients being treated for schizophrenia spectrum and affective disorders in Lombardy receive adequate treatment and sought predictors of adequate treatment. Methods:Patients were aged ≥18, were residents of Italy's Lombardy region, and were treated in 2007 for schizophrenia spectrum and affective disorders (N=44,462). The patients were assessed as part of a retrospective analysis of pharmaceutical and mental health services databases. Adequacy of 12-month treatment from the first psychiatric contact in 2007 was assessed at the patient level. A hierarchical log-binomial regression model was fitted to estimate relative risk and 95% confidence intervals for association between patients, characteristics of the departments of mental health (DMH), and receipt of minimally adequate treatment. Results:About half the patients with serious mental disorders did not receive adequate care; 45.5% of patients with depressive disorders, 55.7% of those with bipolar disorders, and 49....