THURSDAY, May 7, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- About 95 percent of adults with first-time psychiatric hospitalization have further contact with hospital-based psychiatry, according to a study published online Feb. 27 in European Psychiatry.
Julie Nordgaard, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, and colleagues conducted a 20-year register-based follow-up of 150 patients with first-time psychiatric hospitalizations to examine diagnostic and social development. All participants underwent a comprehensive diagnostic assessment at baseline.
The researchers found that 4.6 percent of the participants had no further contact with hospital-based psychiatry during follow-up. During the follow-up period, 37.9, 35.0, 14.4, 24.6, 11.0, and 6.1 percent received a diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizotypy, depression, personality disorder, bipolar disorder, and substance use disorder, respectively. The probability of receiving the same diagnosis during follow-up was higher for participants with a baseline diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizotypy, or depression (81.6, 69.4, and 53.3 percent), while this was not the case for those with a baseline diagnosis of personality disorder. Elevated mortality was observed (5.9 percent), with one-third of all deaths accounted for by suicide (10-fold higher than the national average).
"We were surprised by how few people never returned to psychiatry after a first admission," Nordgaard said in a statement. "This suggests that admission to a psychiatric ward is in itself a serious warning sign, and that we should make an extra effort for this group of patients."
