Hönigschnabl Selma, Schaden Eva, Stichenwirth Martin, Schneider Barbara, Klupp Nikolaus, Kremeier Elisabeth, Lehner Wolfgang, Vycudilik Walter, Bauer Georg, Risser Daniele
Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Vienna, Austria.
J Forensic Sci. 2002 Jul;47(4):837-42.
Mass media reports attribute the occurrence of decomposed or mummified corpses in a domestic setting mainly to an increasing social isolation of elderly people. Not much is known about the demographic and medical conditions under which individuals are found months or even years after death in their homes. For this study, autopsy reports of individuals found dead and mummified or decomposed between 1993 and 1997 with those from 1963 to 1967 were retrospectively analyzed. Between 1993 and 1997, a total number of 320 individuals were found decomposed at home compared to 412 such cases between 1963 and 1967. The proportion of individuals older than 64 years was significantly higher during the 1990s study period. Furthermore, the proportion of deaths attributable to natural causes was significantly lower during the 1990s, whereas the rate of suicides was nearly three times higher.
大众媒体报道称，在家庭环境中发现的腐烂或木乃伊化尸体主要归因于老年人社会隔离现象的日益增加。对于在死后数月甚至数年才在家中被发现的个体，其人口统计学特征和医疗状况却知之甚少。在本研究中，对1993年至1997年间发现的死亡且已木乃伊化或腐烂个体的尸检报告与1963年至1967年间的报告进行了回顾性分析。1993年至1997年间，共有320人在家中被发现腐烂，而1963年至1967年间此类病例有412例。在20世纪90年代的研究期间，64岁以上个体的比例显著更高。此外，20世纪90年代自然原因导致的死亡比例显著更低，而自杀率几乎高出三倍。
