Mortality among homeless people with schizophrenia in Sydney, Australia:a 10‐year follow‐up
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The aims were first, to describe deaths in a cohort of homeless people compared to the general population and secondly, to compare deaths among the individuals with schizophrenia to those without schizophrenia. METHOD: Mortality was assessed in a cohort of 708 homeless subjects, 506 with schizophrenia who were referred 10 years previously to psychiatric outreach clinics. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated. RESULTS: Eighty-three people (12%) had died, 19 from suicide. The SMR was 3.76 for homeless men and 3.14 for homeless women. There was a non-significant trend for higher excess mortality among men without schizophrenia compared to men with schizophrenia. SMRs for suicide were significantly elevated among homeless men. CONCLUSION: Homeless people in inner Sydney have death rates three to four times higher than people in the general population of New South Wales. Excess mortality was greatest for younger age groups.
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The most recent review of homeless and mental disorders from 2001 was descriptive and did not attempt a quantitative synthesis of the evidence, or explore the heterogeneity between studies.
“The most recent review of homeless and mental disorders from 2001 was descriptive and did not attempt a quantitative synthesis of the evidence, or explore the heterogeneity between studies [3].”
From The Prevalence of Mental Disorders among the Homeless in Western Countries: Systematic Review and Meta-Regression Analysis (2008) · cites this paper as [3]
Reported high rates of suicide in homeless people may not be mediated through depressive illness.
“these estimates suggest that the reported high rates of suicide in homeless people [5,18] may not be mediated through depressive illness”
From The Prevalence of Mental Disorders among the Homeless in Western Countries: Systematic Review and Meta-Regression Analysis (2008) · cites this paper as [5]
Mental disorder among homeless people in high income countries is associated with increased risk of mortality from general medical causes, suicide, and drug-related causes.
“The consequences of mental disorder among homeless people in high income countries are: 1) an increased risk of mortality from general medical causes, suicide [16–18] and drug-related causes [19];”
From Burden of mental disorders and unmet needs among street homeless people in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2014) · cites this paper as [16]
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- Authors
- Babidge, N. C., Buhrich, N., & Butler, T.
- Affiliations
- St Vincent's Hospital Sydney (AU)
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- New South Wales Department of Health (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Babidge, N. C.
- ORCID
- Butler, T.
- Venue
- Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2001-02
- Volume
- 103
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 105-110
- ISSN
- 0001-690X (ISSN-L)
- 1600-0447
- OpenAlex
- W1965951170
- Cited by
- 164
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 14.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Homelessness and Social Issues
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
- Keywords
- homelessness, schizophrenia, mortality, suicide, standardized mortality ratio, psychiatric outreach, sex differences, age differences, inner Sydney
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Australia, Catchment Area, Health, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Ill-Housed Persons, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Schizophrenia, Schizophrenic Psychology, Suicide, Cohort Studies
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