Excess mortality among elderly psychiatric in-patients with organic mental disorder.

BACKGROUND Many studies have shown hospitalised mentally ill patients to have a higher mortality risk than the general population. METHOD Data of patients with organic mental disorders of ICD-9 categories 290, 293, 294 and 310 from seven psychiatric hospitals with defined catchment areas were analysed. During an observation period of 2.5 years 1821 treatment periods in these diagnostic categories were recorded. RESULTS During hospitalisation 137 patients died from natural causes. The age- and sex-adjusted mortality rates show an increased mortality risk of 7.5 times, compared to the general population. The odds ratio of a logistic regression demonstrate the overwhelming influence of the medical diagnosis. CONCLUSION Medical factors, including pneumonias, contribute most to the excess mortality.