Time trends in schizophrenia mortality in Stockholm County, Sweden: cohort study

Abstract

Although mortality in patients with schizophrenia is two to three times higher than that in the general population, little is known about time trends in mortality rates.1-3 We aimed to assess mortality over time after a first admission to hospital with schizophrenia. In those patients who died, the cause of death was categorised as natural, cardiovascular, suicide, or unspecified violence. View this table: Observed over expected numbers of deaths and relative risks (95% confidence intervals) for different causes of death in patients first admitted to hospital with schizophrenia, Stockholm County, 1976-95 The Swedish patient register details all psychiatric inpatient treatments since 1 January 1971. Data on residents of Stockholm County (population 1.8 million) whose first admission to hospital with a diagnosis of schizophrenia had occurred between 1976 and 1995 were linked to the national causes of death register, and the date and underlying cause of death were determined in those who had …