Abstract
Background: Evidence on mortality in severe mental illness (SMI) comes primarily from clinical samples in high-income countries. Aims: To describe mortality in people with SMI among a population cohort from a low-income country. Method: We followed-up 919 adults (from 68 378 screened) with SMI over 10 years. Standardised mortality ratios (SMR) and years of life lost (YLL) as a result of premature mortality were calculated. Results: In total 121 patients (13.2%) died. The overall SMR was twice that of the general population; higher for men and people with schizophrenia. Patients died about three decades prematurely, mainly from infectious causes (49.6%). Suicide, accidents and homicide were also common causes of death. Conclusions: Mortality is an important adverse outcome of SMI irrespective of setting. Addressing common natural and unnatural causes of mortality are urgent priorities. Premature death and mortality related to self-harm should be considered in the estimation of the global burden of disease for SMI.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 289-296 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science |
Volume | 206 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Apr 2015 |