Current Status and Forensic Appraisal Progress of Sudden Unexplained Death in Individuals with Mental Disorders

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1671-2072.2024.02.006

Abstract

Abstract: The risk of sudden death in individuals with mental disorders is significantly higher than that in the general population. Such death cases are often interfered by multiple complex factors such as psychotropic drugs and trauma,which poses great identification challenges. The sudden unexplained death in individuals with mental disorders has always been a difficult task in forensic appraisal due to the lack of scientific and reasonable explanations for the cause of death and precise identification strategies after death. In recent years, with the in-depth researches into anatomy,toxicology and genetics, there has been a deeper understanding of this type of sudden death. This review aims to gather domestic and foreign literature, and introduces the current research status and mechanisms of sudden unexplained death in individuals with mental disorders from perspectives of anatomy, toxicology and genetics, as well as summarizes the forensic appraisal progress, in order to improve the forensic understanding of relevant cases and provide reference for forensic appraisal.

Key words: forensic pathology, individuals with mental disorders, sudden unexplained death, antipsychotics, cause of
death identification

摘要：

精神障碍者猝死风险较普通人群显著增加，同时这类死亡常受精神药物、外伤等多重复杂因素干扰，死亡原因分析极具挑战性。精神障碍者不明原因猝死由于缺乏科学的死因解释及死后精准鉴识策略，一直是司法鉴定的研究难点。近年来，随着解剖学、毒理学和遗传学等方面的研究深入，国内外已对精神障碍者不明原因猝死有了更深的认识。基于国内外相关文献，从解剖学、毒理学和遗传学等角度介绍精神障碍者不明原因猝死的研究现状与猝死机制，并凝练相关鉴识进展，以期提高对相关案件的法医学认识，供法医学鉴定参考。

关键词: 法医病理学, 精神障碍者, 不明原因猝死, 抗精神病药, 死因鉴识

CLC Number:

LI Liliang. Current Status and Forensic Appraisal Progress of Sudden Unexplained Death in Individuals with Mental Disorders[J]. Chinese Journal of Forensic Sciences, 2024(2): 47-54.

李立亮. 精神障碍者不明原因猝死现状及鉴识进展[J]. 中国司法鉴定, 2024(2): 47-54.

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Current Status and Forensic Appraisal Progress of Sudden Unexplained Death in Individuals with Mental Disorders

精神障碍者不明原因猝死现状及鉴识进展

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