SYDNEY, Aug. 15 — People with severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder can have life expectancies up to 20 years shorter than the general population, Australian-led research reveals.
The study, led by Australia’s University of Queensland (UQ) researchers, analyzed 24 years of hospital data covering nearly 180,000 patients in the state of Queensland, finding people with severe mental illness developed serious physical diseases much sooner, according to a UQ statement released on Friday.
“Many people have assumed the shorter life expectancy associated with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder is mostly due to suicide, but much of the gap is actually driven by physical illnesses, many of which are preventable or treatable,” said Sean Halstead, psychiatry registrar and PhD candidate from UQ’s Medical School, lead author of the study published in Lancet Psychiatry.
Researchers examined 11 major categories of physical illness, including cardiovascular, respiratory, musculoskeletal, neurological, infectious and metabolic diseases, and found substantially higher rates of physical disease among the 30,000 people with severe mental illness, many of whom had multiple chronic conditions.
The study found severe mental illness had its biggest impact on physical health in younger adults, particularly women under 25 who experienced disproportionately poorer physical health outcomes.
The researchers said the link may reflect a combination of factors, including genetics, medication side effects, smoking and alcohol use, limited healthcare access and overlooked physical symptoms in people with severe mental illness.
Halstead said prompt treatment and regular physical health monitoring following a mental health diagnosis could help reduce the build-up of multiple chronic conditions. (Xinhua)
