Death by suicide or accident can be considered as a fairly direct consequence of a mental disorder, but the association between a mental disorder and death from natural causes is more complex and puzzling.

One of the most solid facts available in psychiatry is the repeatedly confirmed finding that there is an excess mortality among both previous and current psychiatric patients. Even this basic and concrete fact is, however, not quite clear, but remains ambiguous. Death by suicide or accident can be considered as a fairly direct consequence of a mental disorder, but the association between a mental disorder and death from natural causes is more complex and puzzling.

Death by suicide or accident can be considered as a fairly direct consequence of a mental disorder, but the association between a mental disorder and death from natural causes is more complex and puzzling.

Discussion in Connection with Häfner and Bickel’s Paper: Physical Mortality and Morbidity in Psychiatric Patients