Schizophrenia and severe substance abuse disorders pose a high risk of early death.

The study, recently published in PLOS One, includes 125,000 patients aged 20-79 treated for schizophrenia and/or severe substance use disorders in specialist healthcare services in Norway from 2009 to 2015. Read the article in PLOS One here The research project is funded by Helse Nord RHF and conducted by UiT The Arctic University of Norway in collaboration with University Hospital of North Norway, the Centre for Clinical Documentation and Evaluation (SKDE), and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. ### Many Die Young The study shows that individuals with schizophrenia and/or severe substance use disorders have a significantly increased risk of early death compared to other Norwegians. This increased risk applies to both genders, all age groups, and all the most common causes of death, and is relatively highest among patients aged 20-39 years. Among patients who died during the follow-up period, the average age at death was lowest for men with both diagnoses, at an average of 45 years. ### Both Suicide, Overdoses, and 'Common' Diseases It is particularly the risk of suicide and overdose deaths that is elevated compared to other Norwegians, and the study shows, among other things, that women with substance use disorders aged 20 to 39 years have a 20-30 times higher risk of this type of death compared to other women of the same age. Despite the alarmingly high risk of suicide and overdose deaths, it is still cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and respiratory diseases that account for the most lost years of life for these patients compared to the rest of the population. ### Increasing Disparities The study shows that the inequality in mortality between individuals with schizophrenia and the general population has actually increased since the last national study in the 1980s. This applies to deaths from both natural and unnatural causes. The excess mortality also appears to be high compared to other European countries. The findings in the study suggest that patients with severe mental disorders and substance use disorders require a strengthened and more differentiated treatment offer for the follow-up of somatic health than the rest of the population, and efforts to prevent overdose-related deaths and suicides among young people with substance use disorders must be significantly intensified. **Collaborating Institutions:** UiT The Arctic University of Norway, University Hospital of North Norway, Centre for Clinical Documentation and Evaluation (SKDE), Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Karolinska Institutet **Authors:** Ina Heiberg, Bjarne K. Jacobsen, Ragnar Nesvåg, Jørgen G. Bramness, Ted Reichborn-Kjennerud, Øyvind Næss, Eivind Ystrøm, Christina M. Hultman, Anne Høye