Extreme Cause-Specific Mortality in a Cohort of Adult Prisoners – 1988 to 2000: a Data-Linkage Study

A retrospective cohort study was done of 85,203 adults imprisoned in New South Wales, Australia between January 1988-December 2000. 5137 deaths were identified (4714 males, 423 women) of which the vast majority (94%) occurred after release from custody. All-cause standardized mortality ratio was 3.7 in men & 7.8 in women. Suicide was a significant cause of mortality among offenders. The crude mortality rate for suicide was 135/100,000 person-years for men & 79/100,000 person-years for women. Over the study period, on average the all-cause standardized mortality ratio decreased significantly in men & women largely due to the decline in standardized mortality ratios for drug-related deaths & suicide. (30 refs.)