Search

The Austrian composer Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828), the father of the German lied (song), was only 31 years old when he died. During his short life he wrote more than 1,000 pieces, among them 600 lieder, nine symphonies, 18 overtures, chamber music, 15 operettas and operas, six masses, and innumerable piano pieces. Included among the latter are 21 complete sonatas, eight impromptus, Wanderer-Fantasie, dances and piano duets. When he was 26 years old he contracted syphilis and was given the conventional treatment at that time, mercury, which caused him a great deal of problems in the years that followed. However, his premature death was probably caused by typhoid fever.

Ten years after enrollment in six different treatment and rehabilitation facilities in 1984-85, 482 drug addicts (158 women) were followed-up by means of official death records. 97 drug addicts (20%) had died, i.e. an incidence rate of 2.3 per 100 observation years. The incidence rate among those enrolled in psychiatry-oriented institutions was 2.8 for men and 2.0 for women. Among those enrolled in rehabilitation-oriented institutions the corresponding incidence rate was 2.0 and 0.6. The ratio between the incidence rates for the two types of institutions was 1.6 (95% CI 1.0-2.6). Excluding those who were 21 to 25 years of age in 1984-85, the death rate was significantly higher among the drug addicts in psychiatry-oriented institutions than among the addicts at institutions focusing on rehabilitation(relative risk 2.1, 95% CI 1.1-4.1).

In the county of Sør-Trøndelag, Norway, 145 children with congenital heart disease were detected among 14,194 live-born children from 1 January 1987 to 31 December 1990. This represents an incidence of 10.2 per thousand live-born children. The children were followed for six to 42 months (mean 2.38 years). Ventricular septal defect was detected in 71 (49%) cases. Isolated ventricular septal defect was found in 56 (39%) cases, the muscular type being the most frequent (three times that of the membranous type). Other congenital defects were found in 28 cases (19%), either as chromosome aberrations, syndromes or extracardiac malformations. 13 (9%) children died. None had constant symptoms of congestive heart failure by the end of the study. 34 (23%) cases were referred from mother and child clinics. 8 (5.5%) cases were detected prenatally. Compared with the results of other studies, the total incidence of congenital heart disease was high, and mortality and incidence of other coexistent congenital defects were low. It seems that small and less severe heart defects were detected more frequently in this study. The difference was most marked for incidence of muscular ventricular septal defect, atrial septal defect and pulmonary stenosis. The probable reasons for these results are an almost complete register of cases, well established postnatal care and a short distance to a pediatric cardiologist.

The study comprised male citizens of Oslo, aged 30-64 years, who died outside hospital and were autopsied at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, Rikshopsitalet, from 1984 to 1988. Of the 636 cases, 195 (30.7%) were classified as alcoholics and 441 as non-alcoholics. The cause of death remained unknown after autopsy and toxicological analyses in 17.4% of the alcoholics and in 5.4% of the non-alcoholics. Suicide by other methods than medicamental poisoning was 6-7 times more frequent among non-alcoholics than among alcoholics, while death from poisoning was definitely more common among alcoholics. The frequency of lethal accidents other than intoxications was similar in both cases. Coronary heart disease was the cause of 72.7% of the natural deaths among the non-alcoholics. Among the alcoholics, however, infections (24.3%) and alcohol-related disorders (15.9%) caused nearly as many deaths as coronary heart disease (25.3%). There was a high rate of blood-alcohol concentration (greater than or equal to 0.5%) in men who died from accidents, suicides and homicides, irrespective of whether they were alcoholics or not. The findings give evidence that alcohol has a strong impact on the mortality statistics for Norwegian middle-aged men.

From 1984 to 1988, 195 male alcoholics aged 30-64 years who died outside hospitals and nursing homes in Oslo were autopsied at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, the National Hospital, Oslo. Of the 127 brains neuropathologically examined, 86 (67.7%) showed abnormalities, and 28 contained lesions of more than one type. One or two lesions associated with alcoholism were found in 61 cases (48%). Thus, 18 (14.2%) showed Wernicke's encephalopathy, 47 (37%) cerebellar atrophy, two central pontine myelinolysis, and one hepatic encephalopathy. Subdural haematoma and/or cortical contusions were found in 30 (23.6%), and cerebrovascular lesions in 19 (15%). Of the 195 cases, 22 had a history of repeated epileptic seizures. Nineteen of them were examined neuropathologically, and 13 had focal damage that might have been responsible for their fits. The results indicate that the frequency of Wernicke's encephalopathy and cerebellar atrophy in male alcoholics who die outside hospital is similar to that previously observed in cases who died in hospital. Although cerebral damage was even more frequent among vagrants and others dependent on social support, half the men living in their own homes were also affected.