Neurosis and mortality: investigating an association.
Neurosis is not a cause of death, but at follow-up neurotic patients are found to experience increased premature mortality. Suicide and accidental death are considerably increased in this group. There is also an excess of deaths from natural causes; amongst hypotheses to account for this there is some evidence to incriminate arteriosclerosis, and increased toxicity from cigarette smoke may be a factor. The increased mortality is not explained by confusion over the term depression. Those neurotic patients who subsequently die are more likely to have suffered from a more severe degree of neurosis at the time of initial treatment.
D000059:Accidents; D000328:Adult; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009497:Neurotic Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality*; D012306:Risk; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology