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Objective: This study investigates the relationship between individual and neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) and mortality among patients with schizophrenia., Methods: A study population was identified from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) prior to the end of 1999 that included 60,402 patients with schizophrenia. Each patient was tracked until death or to the end of 2009. Individual SESs were defined by enrollee category. Neighborhood SES was defined by enrollee category (as a proxy for occupation) and education, which were classified according to the conventions of Hollingshead. Neighborhoods were also grouped into advantaged and disadvantaged areas. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to compare the death-free survival rate between the different SES groups after adjusting for possible confounding factors and risk factors., Results: During the 10-year follow-up period, the mortality rates among high, moderate, and low individual SES groups were 12.22, 14.75, and 18.48%, respectively (P < 0.001). Schizophrenia patients with low individual SESs in disadvantaged neighborhoods had a risk of death that was 18-22% higher than that of those with high individual SES in advantaged neighborhoods. The analysis of the combined effect of individual SES and neighborhood SES revealed that the death rates were highest among those with low individual SES and low neighborhood SES (P < 0.001)., Conclusions: Schizophrenia patients with low individual SES in disadvantaged neighborhoods have the highest risk of mortality despite a universal health-care system. Public health strategies and welfare policies must continue to focus on this vulnerable group.

Backgrounds: Immigration to Taiwan is often connected with marriage, resulting in the presence of so-called married immigrants or foreign brides., Aims: To compare the quality of life (QOL) and prevalence of depression between female married immigrants and native married women., Methods: Trained assistants used the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (MOS SF-36) and the disaster-related psychological screening test (DRPST) to interview 1,602 married women who were 16-50 years of age. Half (801) of the participants were female immigrants, whilst the remainder comprised the age-matched control group that consisted of 801 native married women. Participants who scored C2 (probable major depressive episode) on the DRPST were assessed according to DSM-IV criteria by a senior psychiatrist. The MOS SF-36 measures QOL and has two dimensions: the physical component summary (PCS) and the mental component summary (MCS)., Results: Married immigrants had a lower prevalence (3.5%) of major depressive episodes than native women (8.9%) in Taiwan. Variables such as an increased severity of psychosocial impact were the best predictors of a lower PCS and MCS., Conclusion: Compared to Taiwanese native married women, fewer married immigrants had stressful life events or depression, and they reported higher QOL. After controlling for putative confounding factors, the married immigrants still had better mental QOL and a lower prevalence rate of depression