Ruschena et al. (1998) provide an Australian perspective
through histories of prior psychiatric treatment in cases
of sudden death reported to the State Coroner of Victoria.
Sudden death was five times higher in people with histories
of psychiatric contact. Although suicide accounted for part
of this excess mortality, deaths from natural causes were
also elevated.The authors found that persons with schizophrenic disorders
were over-represented in the category of death from
natural causes. Specifically comorbid substance misuse
(including smoking) doubled the risk of sudden death in
affective and schizophrenic disorders. It was identified that
an excess of deaths due to cardiovascular disease accounted
for the over-representation among schizophrenic disorders.
This is plausibly relatable to damaging habits
(smoking) and poor health care (Ruschena et al. 1998).