Overview

• Baseline data from the PsyCourse Study (543 bipolar disorder, 517 schizophrenia, 456 healthy controls) were analyzed and published in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica.
• Females with schizophrenia began outpatient treatment at an older age than males with schizophrenia and than females with bipolar disorder, and older treatment age was associated with longer illness duration.
• Males with schizophrenia showed the highest rates of illicit drug use and smoking among the diagnostic and sex groups.
• People with bipolar disorder demonstrated better overall functioning and neurocognitive performance than those with schizophrenia, with females in the bipolar group outperforming males in verbal memory and psychomotor speed.
• Both sexes with severe mental illness had higher rates of thyroid alterations than healthy controls, and the authors recommend sex-sensitive care while calling for further longitudinal and mechanistic research.