Age, gender and ethnicity of those detained under Part II of the Mental Health Act 1983

BACKGROUND: Aggregate returns give limited information about those detained under the Mental Health Act 1983. AIMS: To use existing data-sets to examine detentions under Part II of the Act. METHOD: Data from 26 areas, with a combined population of 9.2 million, were combined. Population census data were used to standardise rates of detention by age, gender and ethnicity. RESULTS: The 31 702 detentions are distributed bimodally with peaks at age 25-34 years and at over age 80 years. In the younger age group rates of detention are higher for men. The excess of women in the older group is no longer apparent when rates are standardised for age and gender. Detentions are over six times more likely to be of Black people than of White (450 v. 68 per standardised 100 000 population). CONCLUSIONS: The difference in rates of detention between Black and White people is greater than previously thought. The excess of older women detained under Part II of the Act is largely due to the lower life expectancy of men.