[Mortality in patients attending a psychiatric service]

This study followed during 10 years 322 Belgian patients aged between 20 and 39 years living in the district of Anderlecht and who had presented themselves for the first time to the psychosocial sector of this district between 1970 and 1973. Fifteen deaths were observed, 10 of which were among the under 30's. The S.M.R. observed (5.27) is similar to the results obtained in other international studies. The survival curves (Kaplan-Meier method) confirm the more considerable excess of mortality during the first years of the follow-up. The decreased sample was matched to a control sample of patients frequenting the centre and compared by the Mac Nemar test. There was very little difference between the two samples. The deceased had however rarely moved house during their follow-up and had accumulated a series of risk factors from the beginning.