Prospective analysis of premature mortality in schizophrenia in relation to health service engagement: a 7.5-year study within an epidemiologically complete, homogeneous population in rural Ireland.

While premature death in schizophrenia is well recognised, mortality risk has received little longitudinal study in relation to population representativeness and patient engagement with health services. Within a rural Irish catchment area of socioeconomic, ethnic and geographical homogeneity and low residential mobility, an epidemiologically complete population of 72 patients with schizophrenia was followed up over 7.5 years in order to quantify mortality prospectively. Information was obtained in relation to 99% of the cohort, with 94% of those surviving retained in engagement with psychiatric care. There were 25 deaths (35% of cohort). A relative risk of 2.06 (95% CI, 1.40-2.80; P < 0.001) among this epidemiologically complete population may constitute an estimate of risk for mortality inherent to schizophrenia when disengagement from health services, residential mobility and socioeconomic, ethnic and geographical diversity are minimised. On long-term prospective evaluation, risk for death in schizophrenia was doubled on a background of enduring engagement in psychiatric care with increasing provision of community-based services and introduction of second-generation antipsychotics. Copyright 2003 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.