Mortality trends in cardiovascular causes in schizophrenia, bipolar and unipolar mood disorder in Sweden 1987–2010

INTRODUCTION: People with severe mental illness have increased risk for premature mortality and thus a shorter life expectancy. Relative death rates are used to show the excess mortality among patients with mental health disorder but cannot be used for the comparisons by country, region and time. METHODS: A population-based register study including all Swedish patients in adult psychiatry admitted to hospital with a main diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar or unipolar mood disorder in 1987-2010 (614 035 person-years). Mortality rates adjusted for age, sex and period were calculated using direct standardization methods with the 2010 Swedish population as standard. Data on all residents aged 15 years or older were used as the comparison group. RESULTS: Patients with severe mental health disorders had a 3-fold mortality compared to general population. All-cause mortality decreased by 9% for people with bipolar mood disorder and by 26-27% for people with schizophrenia or unipolar mood disorder, while the decline in the general population was 30%. Also mortality from diseases of the circulatory system declined less for people with severe mental disorder (-35% to - 42%) than for general population (-49%). The pattern was similar for other cardiovascular deaths excluding cerebrovascular deaths for which the rate declined among people with schizophrenia (-30%) and unipolar mood disorder (-41%), unlike for people with bipolar mood disorder (-3%). CONCLUSIONS: People with mental health disorder have still elevated mortality. The mortality declined faster for general population than for psychiatric patients. More detailed analysis is needed to reveal causes-of-death with largest possibilities for improvement.