Effects of diagnosis and treatment history on relapse of psychiatric patients.

Of 400 patients followed up for 1 year after release from the hospital, 34% were readmitted during that year. For schizophrenic patients the readmission rate was 49%, and for nonschizophrenic patients it was 21%. Rate of rehospitalization was positively related to number of prior hospitalizations, cumulative months of prior hospitalization, and duration of illness, but the relationship varied between the schizophrenic and nonschizophrenic groups. In contrast to the findings of Linn and associates, in this study prior hospitalization of nonschizophrenic patients markedly increased the likelihood of rehospitalization.