Premium
Mortality and causes of death in eating disorders in Denmark 1970–1993: A case register study
Author(s) -
Emborg Charlotte
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-108x(199904)25:3<243::aid-eat1>3.0.co;2-2
Subject(s) - danish , eating disorders , excess mortality , medicine , demography , mortality rate , pediatrics , population , record linkage , standardized mortality ratio , cause of death , psychiatry , disease , environmental health , philosophy , linguistics , sociology
Objective The aim of this study is to describe mortality rates and causes of death for patients with eating disorders. Method By means of record‐linkage, the study includes all patients admitted and diagnosed as suffering from an eating disorder according to the ICD‐8 classification system during the period 1970–1993 at any Danish psychiatric (since 1970) or somatic department (since 1977). The study includes 2,763 cases, of which 237 are males. Maximum follow‐up time is 23 years and mean follow‐up time is 10.3 years. Results Crude mortality at follow‐up is 8.4%. A significant excess mortality is demonstrated since the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) of the total patient population is 6.69 (CI 5.68–7.83) and the highest rate ratio (RR) of 14.92 (CI 9.66–22.03) relates to women aged 25–29. Discussion The study documents a significant excess mortality among eating‐disordered patients. © 1999 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 25: 243–251, 1999.