Citation

Faustman WO, Ringo DL, Faull KF. Br. J. Psychiatry 1993; 163: 519-521.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1993, Royal College of Psychiatry)

DOI

10.1192/bjp.163.4.519

PMID

7504565

Abstract

We followed up a sample of psychiatric patients (diagnoses predominantly schizophrenia and depression) who had participated in in-patient studies of their CSF over the past 15 years. The status of 73 former patients was confirmed, of whom 12 had died. Seven of these patients died at age < or = 40, largely of suicide, homicide, or accidental causes. These seven patients had significantly lower CSF 5-HIAA and HVA than living control patients. There were significant direct correlations between age at death and both CSF 5-HIAA and HVA in the deceased patients. The results offer support for CSF monoamine metabolites relating to early death in a diagnostically diverse sample of psychiatric patients.

Language: en

Keywords

Adult; Aged; Cause of Death; Depressive Disorder; Follow-Up Studies; Homovanillic Acid; Hospital Records; Humans; Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid; Male; Mental Disorders; Middle Aged; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychotic Disorders; Risk-Taking; Schizophrenia