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Symptoms of psychological distress predict 7-year mortality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Felicia A. Huppert  and
Joyce E. Whittington
Felicia A. Huppert*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge
Joyce E. Whittington
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Felicia A. Huppert, University of Cambridge, Department of Psychiatry, Box 189, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2QQ.
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Synopsis

As part of the Health and Lifestyle Survey (HALS), 6096 adults from a representative sample of community residents completed a standardized questionnaire which elicited psychiatric symptoms – the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30) of Goldberg (1972). Their survival status at 7 years was determined, and 474 had died. Respondents whose GHQ score was above the conventional threshold (4/5), used when screening for psychiatric disorder, were 60% more likely to die over the 7-year interval than respondents whose GHQ score was below threshold (risk ratio 1·64 for men and 1·58 for women). The differences were statistically significant for both sexes when the effects of age, physical disorder, social class and smoking behaviour were taken into account. Personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion) were not related to mortality, neither was self-reported difficulty in sleeping. However, a low subjective rating of one's general health was associated with increased mortality. We explored a range of cut-points and found reliable effects for both sexes at all cut-points from 3/4 to 6/7. Possible differences related to natural versus unnatural causes of death were explored and found not to explain the results. The findings from this general population study confirm that it is not only psychiatric disorders, but also psychiatric symptoms, which are associated with subsequent mortality, and thereby reinforce the importance of appropriate intervention to alleviate these symptoms.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 25 , Issue 5 , September 1995 , pp. 1073 - 1086
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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