Mortality among discharged psychiatric patients in Finland

No comprehensive study has yet been made of mortality among psychiatric pat ients in Finland. According to studies conducted in other parts of the worl d, the mortality rates of psychiatric patients are higher than those of the general population. The study population here consisted of all patients di scharged from psychiatric hospitals during the year 1988 (n = 22 940). The register follow-up of these patients extended up to the year 1992. In the c ourse of the follow-up a total of 3936 discharged psychiatric patients died (1.7.2%). The standardized mortality ratio (SMR) of the patients discharge d from psychiatric hospitals was almost four times higher than that of the general population. The proportion of unnatural causes of death, including accidents in the young age groups and especially the much higher suicide SM R among young women, is a particularly striking finding. Natural causes of death were also more prevalent among the study population than in the gener al population, the major causes being acute myocardial infarction and unspe cified pneumonia. The results of this study confirm previous findings of in creased mortality among psychiatric patients compared to the general popula tion. On the basis of this study one cannot, however, conclude that the rea son for the high mortality rate would be premature discharge. More attentio n needs to be paid to the care of young patients and to supporting the pati ent during the transition from the hospital to community care.