Abstract
The rate of survival and causes of mortality in a cohort of 2103 psychiatric patients registered on a psychiatric case register and followed up for 7 years are compared with those of a general population sample (n = 2382) randomly extracted from the municipal census in Valencia (Spain). Using multivariate analysis by Cox regression, patients suffering organic psychoses and those diagnosed with drug abuse or dependency exhibited a greater risk of death than the general population for the total causes of death; no interaction was found between sociodemographic variables and psychiatric pathology. In terms of the causes of death, and controlling for the effect of age and sex, organic psychoses involved a greater risk of death due to cardiovascular and respiratory causes, and a greater risk of non-natural deaths than the general population. Schizophrenia and related conditions, the abuse of alcohol/other drugs, and neurosis/personality disorders all presented a higher risk of death from liver disease. The major affective disorders involved a greater risk of death due to suicide or accidents. The study concludes with a discussion of the possible explanations of these results.
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Accepted: 5 August 1997
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Salazar-Fraile, J., Gómez-Beneyto, M., Pérez-Hoyos, S. et al. Mortality among psychiatric patients referred to the mental health services in Valencia. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 33, 224–229 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/s001270050047
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s001270050047