Mortality among institutionalised people with learning disabilities in Greece: a 30-year survey at the Leros PIKPA asylum.

The life expectancy of institutionalised people with learning disabilities is shorter than that of the general population. Data on population dynamics in institutions for such people are vital for planning purposes. Mortality can be considered a crude measure of quality of health care. Mortality data on the 914 admissions to the Leros PIKPA asylum for children and young adults with learning disabilities and associated problems in the years 1961-91 were reviewed. The overall crude mortality rate was 59.2 deaths per 1000 person-years. Twenty-two per cent of the deaths occurred within a year after admission. Age-specific mortality rates were particularly high for those aged one to four years, and declined thereafter. Male residents had lower mortality than female residents in almost all of the age groups. Compared with sex- and age-specific mortality data for the general population of Greece, the observed rates were 20-150 times higher but still comparable to those reported for people with more severe learning disabilities in institutions in other countries. Lifetable analysis by length of stay showed that male residents had a statistically significant higher probability of survival than female residents, which could not be attributed to age-related differential mortality. Culture-specific differential admission criteria may account for the observed sex difference.