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 higher 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.