[Mortality in the Swiss and foreign immigrants in the Canton of Ticino]. / La mortalità negli svizzeri e negli stranieri immigrati nel Cantone Ticino.

The Canton Ticino is one of the Swiss cantons with the highest number of foreigners (mainly Italians): roughly 25% of the entire canton's population. The aim of this work, which is part of a wider study on the immigration problem in Switzerland, is to evaluate whether the immigrant population in the Canton Ticino presents differences in death rates, both in general and according to cause of death, with respect to the Swiss population. Crude and standardized death rates were calculated for autochthonals, Italians and other foreigners, using data on those deceased in the Canton during 1991 and 1994. Higher death-rates (both sexes and all age groups, except 0-19 years) were calculated for almost all causes of death, of the Swiss group with respect to Italians and other foreigners. The low death-rates found in the immigrants may be due, at least partially, to the "healthy emigrant" effect. This effect seems to be stronger than the effect of the often negative factors to which immigrants are exposed in the host country.

[Mental disorder and the use of public psychiatric services in the foreign population in the Canton Ticino region]. / Disagio psichico e utilizzazione dei servizi psichiatrici pubblici nella popolazione straniera del Canton Ticino.

OBJECTIVE: To verify if the foreign population resident in the Canton Ticino, differs in the use of public psychiatric services and in the type of mental disorder presented, with respect to the Swiss population. DESIGN: Research completed on subjects Swiss and foreign, over 19 years old, and resident in the Canton Ticino, who during 1995 spent at least one day admitted at the psychiatric hospital or had at least one contact with the out-patient services. SETTING: Public psychiatric services of the Canton's sociopsychiatric organisation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: For the Swiss, Italian and other non-Italian foreigners, the standardised annual rates of in- and outpatient prevalence and first admission and first outpatient contact were calculated, both totals and per diagnostic categories (ICD-10). RESULTS: The group of non-Italian foreigners presents higher total standardised annual rates of in-patient prevalence and first admission and above all, of first admission, with respect to the Swiss and Italian groups; furthermore, with respect to the other two groups it presents higher first admission rates for the schizophrenic syndromes (F2) in men and for mental disorders due to psychoactive substances (F1) in women. Whereas for first outpatient contacts the other foreigners present higher rates in neurotic syndromes (F4) in men, and affective syndromes (F3) in women. CONCLUSIONS: The results seem to confirm the presence of higher levels of mental disorder in non-Italian foreigners, above all for certain nationalities, with respect to Swiss and Italians. It is possible that the presence of a substantial offer of psychiatric services from the private sector may have caused an underestimation of the actual rate of mental disorder above all in the Swiss group and to a minor extent in that of the Italians.