Mortality among psychiatric patients referred to the mental health services in Valencia.
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.
Salazar-Fraile
J
J
Malvarrosa Mental Health Center, Valencia, Spain.
Gómez-Beneyto
M
M
Pérez-Hoyos
S
S
Hurtado-Navarro
I
I
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002423:Cause of Death; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000401:mortality*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012306:Risk; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000401:mortality