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2024 (English)In: Frontiers in Psychiatry, E-ISSN 1664-0640, Vol. 15, article id 1342722Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Introduction: Most forensic psychiatric patients have chronic psychiatric disorders that require long-term pharmacological treatment even after discharge from care. However, the prevalence and correlates of post-discharge medication discontinuation in this patient group remain unclear.
Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and correlates of post-discharge discontinuation of pharmacological treatment in forensic psychiatric patients in Sweden.
Methods: Data on individuals discharged from forensic psychiatric care between 2009 and 2018 (n = 1,142) with ongoing pharmacological treatment at the time of discharge (n = 856) were identified from the Swedish National Forensic Psychiatric Register. Cox regression models were used to estimate the association between patient characteristics and medication discontinuation.
Results: Of the 856 individuals with pharmacological treatment at discharge, 488 (57%) discontinued treatment within 2 years of discharge. Factors associated with an increased risk of treatment discontinuation varied between different types of psychotropic medications: the most important correlate was comorbidity between psychosis and personality disorder. Higher age at discharge, longer length of stay, having a history of several psychiatric care episodes, having a trustee, having a limited guardian, and a residing in a supported living accommodation at the time of discharge were associated with a decreased rate of medication discontinuation. This applied for antipsychotics, antidepressants, antiepileptics, and any psychotropic medication, but not for psychostimulants or drugs used in addictive disorders.
Conclusion: For many former forensic psychiatric patients, there are situational factors associated with medication discontinuation. This insight holds significance for professionals who are involved in pre-discharge planning within forensic psychiatric care and those who interact with this cohort of former patients post-discharge.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Frontiers Media S.A., 2024
Keywords
discharge, forensic psychiatry, medication discontinuation, mentally disordered offender, pharmacological treatment discontinuation, psychotropic medications
National Category
Psychiatry
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-221667 (URN)10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1342722 (DOI)38404465 (PubMedID)2-s2.0-85185502699 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2021-06370
2024-03-012024-03-012024-03-01Bibliographically approved