The relationship between discoveries of dying alone and presence of mental disorders based on forensic autopsies

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating the correlation between the discoveries of dying alone and presence of mental disorders based on forensic autopsies over a period of 6 fiscal years using the number of days until discovery after death alone. Totally, 1122 autopsy cases of dying alone at the residences were studied. Patients with and without mental disorders who died alone were compared, with a discovery rate of up to 30 days after death. The discovery rate served as a relationship index for the society. Women were identified to have a higher tendency of discovery rate as compared with men. In addition, the discovery rate of men with mental disorders was greater than that of those without mental disorders. In contrast, the discovery rate of women suffering from mental disorders was lower than that of those not suffering. We also observed that the type of mental disorder influenced the discovery rate of such deaths pertaining to cases with mental disorders. We concluded that our findings demonstrate that gender, as well as presence and type of mental disorders might be risk factors pertaining to discovery of dying alone.