General health problems in a forensic psychiatric hospital

Introduction As other citizens, patients in forensic psychiatry may encounter problems with their general health and may be even more prone to some life shortening diseases, like metabolic disorder and cardiovascular disease. Still, the presentation of health problems in the forensic psychiatry setting is largely unknown. The present study aimed to map the occurrence of general health problems in forensic psychiatry patients including metabolic disorder and cardiovascular disease. Methods This study is a retrospective audit of patient contacts to a general practice (GP) unit within a Danish forensic psychiatry hospital (Middelfart) during a 1-year period from June 1 st 2022, to May 31 st 2023, with recording of patient characteristics, reasons for contacting the GP unit, and metabolic disorder and cardiovascular illness marker measures. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a mixed model regression analysis. Results In total, 94 patients contacted the GP facility during the 1-year period amounting to 2,395 contacts with diagnoses available in 28% (n=662) of contacts. The most common contact diagnoses were general and unspecified enquiries (23%), endocrine- (19%), skin- (15%), cardiovascular- (10%), musculoskeletal- (9%), and digestive (7%) symptoms and illnesses. Indicators of metabolic- and cardiovascular illness were mostly stable. Conclusion The pattern of general health problems in forensic psychiatry hospital may largely mirror the background population. Forensic psychiatric patients need reasonable access to GP healthcare in the forensic psychiatry setting to ensure that their healthcare needs are met.