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Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
Published in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 1/2015

01-01-2015 | Original Paper

Pre-sentence mental health service use predicts post-sentence mortality in a population cohort of first-time adult offenders

Authors: Nita Sodhi-Berry, Matthew Knuiman, Janine Alan, Vera A. Morgan, David B. Preen

Published in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology | Issue 1/2015

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Abstract

Purpose

With the high risk of death associated with mental disorders and their increased prevalence in offenders, it is judicious to investigate the risk of post-sentence mortality with respect to offenders’ psychiatric treatment history.

Methods

Using linked administrative data for a whole-population retrospective cohort of first-time adult offenders (n = 25,537) sentenced to either prison or non-custodial orders in Western Australia, we determined the risk and baseline predictors of post-sentence mortality.

Results

Of 192 deaths within 2 years of sentence completion, deaths from injury/poisoning (55.6 %), cancer (13.3 %) and cardiovascular disorders (9.7 %) were the most common. Pre-sentence history of mental health service (MHS) contact doubled the risk of post-sentence all-cause and injury/poisoning-related mortality. Physical comorbidity was the strongest predictor of mortality irrespective of pre-sentence MHS contact. Baseline history of attempted self-harm and being an Indigenous male were associated with an elevated risk of death in offenders with a pre-sentence MHS contact. In offenders without a pre-sentence MHS contact, socio-economic disadvantage and incarceration almost doubled the risk of dying from any cause and injury/poisoning.

Conclusions

Mortality risk in the 2 years following sentence completion is associated with pre-sentence health service use and a range of socio-demographic factors for both incarcerated and non-custodial offenders. The opportunity afforded by imprisonment could be exploited by provision of funding to identify and treat mental illness, impart preventive health education addressing modifiable risk factors and provide transitional care to community-based services, all of which may help reduce preventable post-sentence deaths. Diversion to non-custodial sentences is also a plausible option.
Appendix
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Metadata
Title
Pre-sentence mental health service use predicts post-sentence mortality in a population cohort of first-time adult offenders
Authors
Nita Sodhi-Berry
Matthew Knuiman
Janine Alan
Vera A. Morgan
David B. Preen
Publication date
01-01-2015
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology / Issue 1/2015
Print ISSN: 0933-7954
Electronic ISSN: 1433-9285
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-014-0919-8

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