--- title: "Psych News Alert: Mental Illnesses Associated With Accidental Deaths" description: Mental illness is related to all sorts of accidental deaths, especially poisoning and falls, a national population study based on Swedish da... image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/collapsed-man_59173600-Jun-24-2025-03-29-42-9753-PM.gif --- 6/24/24 11:16 AM # Mental Illnesses Associated With Accidental Deaths ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) Share: [facebook-f icon ](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/09/mental-illnesses-associated-with.html) [linkedin-in icon ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/09/mental-illnesses-associated-with.html) [Twitter icon ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/09/mental-illnesses-associated-with.html) [pinterest-p icon ](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/09/mental-illnesses-associated-with.html) [envelope icon ](mailto:?body=https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/09/mental-illnesses-associated-with.html) | [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/collapsed-man_59173600-Jun-24-2025-03-29-42-0605-PM.gif)](https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/collapsed-man_59173600-Jun-24-2025-03-29-42-0605-PM.gif) | | | --- | --- | Mental illness is related to all sorts of accidental deaths, especially poisoning and falls, a national population study based on Swedish data and reported in the*[British Journal of Psychiatry](http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/early/2013/08/10/bjp.bp.112.123992.abstract) *suggests. The lead researcher was Casey Crump, M.D., Ph.D., a clinical assistant professor of medicine at Stanford University. Moreover, the strongest risk factor for death by accident, the study found, was alcohol use, followed by other substance use disorders, then by personality disorders, dementia, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, depression, and schizophrenia. The individuals who were most susceptible to an accidental death related to mental illness were older unmarried men of low socioeconomic status. Possible reasons why mental illnesses may contribute to accidental death, the researchers proposed, include fatigue, poor concentration, sleep disturbance, psychotropic medication use, risk taking, or self-destructive behavior. More information about mental illness and accidental death can be found in ["An Examination of Premature Mortality Among Decedents With Serious Mental Illness and Those in the General Population"](http://ps.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleid=101466) and ["Risk of Death From Accidental Overdose Associated With Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders."](http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleID=181218)  (Image: Ann Baldwin/Shutterstock.com) [mental illness and suicide](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/mental-illness-and-suicide), [mental illness and accidents](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/mental-illness-and-accidents) ## Related posts [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/smoking%20cessation_172509605-Jun-24-2025-07-16-16-6819-PM.jpg?height=200&name=smoking%20cessation_172509605-Jun-24-2025-07-16-16-6819-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2014/03/smoking-cessation-linked-with-multiple.html) [smoking cessation](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/smoking-cessation), [mental health](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/mental-health) ## [Smoking Cessation Linked With Multiple Mental Health Benefits, Study Finds](https://alert.psychnews.org/2014/03/smoking-cessation-linked-with-multiple.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 3/24/14 12:00 AM Stopping smoking is associated with significant improvements in anxiety, depression, stress,... 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[ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/08/study-finds-1-in-3-children-of-parents.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Swanson_cropped-Jun-24-2025-04-40-17-2350-PM.jpg?height=200&name=Swanson_cropped-Jun-24-2025-04-40-17-2350-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/05/experts-discuss-mental-llness-risk-for.html) [APA annual meeting](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/apa-annual-meeting), [mental illness](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/mental-illness), [violence](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/violence), [gun ownership](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/gun-ownership) ## [Experts Discuss Mental llness, Risk for Violence, and Gun Ownership](https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/05/experts-discuss-mental-llness-risk-for.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 5/21/15 12:00 AM An evidence-based assessment of dangerousness—not mental illness, per se—should guide public... [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/05/experts-discuss-mental-llness-risk-for.html) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Psychiatric News Alert", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert" }, "dateModified" : "2025-06-24T15:32:28.123Z", "datePublished" : "2024-06-24T15:16:15.000Z", "headline" : "Psych News Alert: Mental Illnesses Associated With Accidental Deaths", "image" : [ "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/collapsed-man_59173600-Jun-24-2025-03-29-42-9753-PM.gif" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/09/mental-illnesses-associated-with.html", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/PN-Blue-Box.jpg" } } } ```