Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 9, 2026

A Strategy to Identify de Novo Mutations in Common Disorders such as Autism and Schizophrenia
Published on: June 15, 2011
Mortality in schizophrenia: 30-year nationwide follow-up study
A Tanskanen1,2, J Tiihonen1,2,3, H Taipale1,2,4
1Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Objective:
Recent reports suggest that the mortality gap between persons with schizophrenia and the general population is increasing. We investigated the mortality, age at death, and causes of death among persons diagnosed with schizophrenia and the general population in Finland during 1984-2014.
Methods:
All persons with schizophrenia in Finland were identified from hospital discharge register, and compared with the Finnish population aged 16 years and older during 1984-2014, based on data from Statistics Finland. Age at death and standardized mortality ratio (SMR) were calculated for each follow-up year.
Results:
Mean age at death increased from 57.6 years in 1984 to 70.1 years in 2014 in persons with schizophrenia, and from 70.9 to 77.5 years in the general population. All-cause SMR remained stable during the follow-up (2.6 in 1984 and 2.7 in 2014). A major change was observed in SMR for suicides which decreased from 11.0 in 1984 to 6.6 in 2014 (-40%). The SMRs for cardiovascular and cancer deaths showed increasing trends.
Conclusion:
The longevity of persons with schizophrenia is improving at approximately the same rate as the general population but suicide rates have declined substantially. However, there is still a major disparity in mortality compared with general population.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Schizophrenia
Biological Causes of Schizophrenia
Genetic Factors in Schizophrenia
The genetic basis of schizophrenia is strongly supported by family and twin...
Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia
Negative and Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Negative Symptoms
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia manifest as deficits in normal emotional and behavioral functioning, profoundly impacting daily life. Individuals with schizophrenia often display a flat affect, characterized by a near-total absence of emotional expression,...
Psychosis: Pathophysiology of Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders
Researchers have identified genetic factors that increase susceptibility to schizophrenia, underscoring the intricate interplay between genetics and environment in disease development. At the core of schizophrenia's pathophysiology is excessive dopaminergic neurotransmission within...
Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia: Hallucinations and Delusions
Thought Disorders
Disorganized and unusual thought processes mark thought disorders in schizophrenia. One key feature is disorganized speech, where an individual's conversation includes...

