Abstract
While the poor health status of prisoners has been highlighted in Western countries, the surveillance of their mortality has been neglected. We studied the mortality of 1305 prisoners released during 1997 from a French prison. Vital status after release was obtained for 86.4% of them. Compared with the general population, ex-prisoners non-natural mortality rates were significantly increased both in the 15-34 and 35-54 age categories (3.5-fold and 10.6-fold respectively) and the risk of death due to overdose was 124 and 274 times higher in the same categories respectively. Prevention and care should be reinforced in the pre-release period without waiting more epidemiological data.
Issue Section:
Research Papers
References
1.
Rotily
M
, Weilandt
C
. HIV infection and viral hepatitis in European prisons in AIDS in Europe
. In: Moatti
JP
, Souteyrand
Y
, Prieur
A
, Sandfordt
T
, Aggelton
P
, editors. New challenges for the social sciences
. London
: Taylor & Francis
; 2000
;149
–64
.2.
Salive
ME
, Smith
GS
, Brewer
TF
. Suicide mortality in the Maryland state prison system, 1979 through, 1987
. JAMA
0098-7484 1989, Dec;262
(24
):3403.3.
Seaman
SR
, Brettle
RP
, Gore
SM
. Mortality for overdose among injecting drug users recently released from prison: database linkage study
. Brit Med J
0007-1447 1998
;316
:426
–8
.4.
Joukamaa
M
. The mortality of released Finnish prisoners; a 7 years follow-up study of the WATTU project
. Forensic Sci Int
0379-0738 1998
;96
(1
):11
–9
.5.
Salive
ME
, Smith
GS
, Brewer
TF
. Death in prison: changing mortality patterns among male prisoners in Maryland, 1979–87
. Am J Public Health
0090-0036 1990 Dec;80
(12
):1479
–80
.6.
Tilhet-Coartet
S
, Hatton
F
, Lopez
C
, et al. Importance des donnees medico-legales dans les statistiques nationales de causes de daces
. Presse Med
0755-4982 2000
;29
(4
):181
–5
.7.
Rothman
KJ
. Modern epidemiology
. Boston
: Little Brown
, 1986
.8.
Breslow
N
, Day
N
. Statistical methods in cancer research
. Vol. II
: the design and analysis of cohort studies
. Oxford
: Oxford University Press
, 1987
.9.
Rotily
M
, Weilandt
C
, Bird
SM
, Kall
K
, van Hasstrecht
HJA
, Iandolo
E
, et al. Surveillance of HIV infection and related risk behaviour in European prisons A multicentre study
. Eur J Public Health
2001
;11
(3
):243
–50
.
This content is only available via PDF.
All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced or copied, in whole or in part, in any printed, mechanical, electronic, film, or other distribution and storage media, without the written consent of ASTM International.
You do not currently have access to this content.
