• Posted June 5, 2025

Jail Time Increases A Person's Risk of Death

THURSDAY, June 5, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Jail time has a huge effect on both an individual’s and a community’s long-term health, even after their release, a new study says.

People serving time are 39% more likely to die than those not in jail or prison, researchers reported June 3 in JAMA Network Open.

Prisoners are also three times more likely to die from a drug overdose, researchers found.

And that higher death risk extends to the communities to which they return following their release, the study says.

People living in counties with higher incarceration rates faced higher overall death rates, even if they themselves haven’t been imprisoned, results show.

For every 10% increase in a county’s jail population, there are about 5 additional deaths per 100,000 people, researchers say.

“Incarceration increases mortality at both the individual and community levels, highlighting its significance as a critical public health issue,” lead researcher Dr. Utsha Khatri said in a news release. She's an assistant professor of population health science and policy at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.

For the study, researchers analyzed data for more than 3.2 million U.S. adults who participated in a 2008 community survey.

Of those people, 45,000 were incarcerated at the time of the survey. Younger people, men, Black and Hispanic people, and folks with less education and income were more likely to be imprisoned, results show.

During the study period, 431,000 of the survey participants died from any cause, researchers said. Former prisoners had significantly higher odds for early death.

Many counties in the Southeast U.S. had some of the nation's highest jail incarceration rates and also experienced higher death rates, researchers found.

They said people released from jail can find it hard to access health care, and are more likely to struggle with drug addiction. They are particularly at risk for death by drug overdose, especially within the first two weeks after release.

In addition, infectious diseases are much more prevalent among inmates compared to the general population, according to the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation. 

Hepatitis C is up to 21 times higher, HIV/AIDS up to 7 times higher, and tuberculosis more than 4 times higher among prisoners, the NIHCM says.

Prisoners also are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure, asthma, heart problems, diabetes, stroke and liver damage – health conditions that will haunt them even after their release, the NIHCM adds.

“Strengthening health care services in communities with high incarceration rates — such as expanding access to community-based primary care, a strategy shown to reduce population-level mortality — may help address the structural factors contributing to poor health in these areas and mitigate the associated elevated risks,” Khatri said.

More information

The National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation has more on the effects of incarceration on health.

SOURCES: Mount Sinai, news release, June 3, 2025; NIHCM Foundation, Nov. 2, 2022