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The Mortality Experience of Individuals on the Salford Psychiatric Case Register

I. All-Cause Mortality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

D. N. Baxter*
Affiliation:
School of Epidemiology and Health Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT

Abstract

Background

Several studies, mainly non-UK based, have reported higher than expected mortality for individuals with mental illness. This investigation in Salford (England) was undertaken to determine local experiences.

Method

An historical cohort design was employed with record linkage to determine status at study end: maximum follow-up was 18 years. All 6952 individuals with schizophrenia, neuroses, affective or personality disorders, enrolled on the psychiatric case register between 1 January 1968 and 31 December 1975 were recruited: there were 199 exclusions. Death was the study end-point.

Results

Observed mortality was 65% higher than expected and elevated throughout the whole of follow-up. Mortality was highest in younger ages, females and subjects born locally. Circulatory disorders, injury and poisoning each caused approximately one-third of the excess deaths.

Conclusions

Documenting mortality risk has important applications for prioritisation, resource allocation, developing control programmes, evaluating service effectiveness, disease forecasting and future research.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © 1996 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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