ArticleBMC psychiatry2024
The prevalence and comorbidity of mental health and substance use disorders in Scandinavian prisons 2010-2019: a multi-national register study.
Article in BMC psychiatry, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Drug use among people in prison: A global review of epidemiology, harms and interventions.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Mental health disorders and risk of solitary confinement among incarcerated individuals: a nationwide longitudinal cohort study from Norway.BMJ mental health · 2026Article
- "I decide for myself. I'm like the boss of myself. I can cook when I want." Prisoners' experiences with a self-catering food system in a Norwegian low-security prison.Health & justice · 2026Article
- The Relationships Among Neighborhood Disadvantage, Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Diagnoses, and Race/Ethnicity in a U.S. Urban Location.Child psychiatry and human development · 2026Article
- Primary Psychoses Among Sentenced Prisoners in Finland.Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH · 2026Article
- Article
- Quality of Prison Life and Physical Environment: What Is Predictive of Prisoners' Overall Satisfaction with the Prison?Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Epidemiology of psychiatric disorders in Texas prisons from 2016 to 2023.Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences · 2025Article
- Prevalence and patterns of mental health disorders in long-term preventive detention: a 13-year national cohort study.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Substance use disorders, severe mental illness and risk of reoffending among women released from prison: a national cohort study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Psychological Determinants of Conflict with the Law and Susceptibility to Rehabilitation in Relation to the Presence of Symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- Amphetamine use as a predictor of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular mortality and morbidity: a longitudinal cohort study of criminal justice clients.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Article
- Treatment utilization among people with drug use disorders in prison: a national longitudinal cohort study.Health & justice · 2024Article
- Breaking down barriers to mental healthcare access in prison: a qualitative interview study with incarcerated males in Norway.BMC psychiatry · 2024Article
- Prevalence of mental disorders amongst inmates receiving psychopharmacological treatment at Zuera prison.Revista espanola de sanidad penitenciariaArticle
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Abstract
backgroundMental health disorders are common among people in prison, but their prevalence in the Scandinavian prison population remain unclear. In this multinational register study, we examined the prevalence of mental health disorders and the comorbidity of substance use disorders (SUDs) with other mental health disorders in this population. Further, we investigated how the prevalence of mental disorders at prison entry had changed in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden over the study period.
methodsThe three study cohorts included all individuals, aged 19 or older, whom had been imprisoned in Norway (2010-2019), Denmark (2011-2018), and Sweden (2010-2013). Mental disorders were defined as ICD-10 diagnoses (F-codes) registered in the national patient registers. The study prevalence was estimated based on recorded diagnoses during the entire study follow-up period in each respective country. The one-year prevalence of mental disorders was estimated for each calendar year for individuals entering prison during that year.
resultsThe Scandinavian prison cohorts included 119 507 individuals released 191 549 times during the study period. Across all three countries a high proportion of both women (61.3%-74.4%) and men (49.6%-57.9%) had at least one mental health disorder during the observation period. The most prevalent disorders were SUDs (39.1%-44.0%), depressive disorder (8.1%-17.5%), and stress related disorder (8.8%-17.1%). Women (31.8%-41.1%) had higher levels of mental health and substance use comorbidities compared to men (20.8%-27.6%). The one-year prevalence of any mental health disorder increased over time with a 33% relative increase in Norway, 8% in Denmark, and 10% in Sweden. The proportion of individuals entering prison with a comorbid SUD and other mental disorder had also increased.
conclusionsWhile the incarceration rate has been decreasing during the past decade in the Scandinavian countries, an increasing proportion of people entering prison have a diagnosed mental health disorder. Our results suggest that prisons should provide adequate treatment and scale up services to accommodate the increasing proportion of people with complex health needs among incarcerated people.
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