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Mental Diseases Can Reduce Life Span: Study

Mental Diseases Can Reduce Your Life Span
(Photo : Flickr) Mental Diseases Can Reduce Your Life Span

Mental illnesses can reduce an individual's life span by 10 to 20 years, equivalent to years lost to heavy smoking, according to a study.

Mental health problems and diseases have increased in the past years due to increased work pressure, lifestyle changes and exposure to dangerous chemicals in  food and environment. Scientists from Oxford University in the United Kingdom found a massive reduction in life expectancy of people suffering from mental diseases by injuries, substance abuse and suicides at rates that were comparable to smoking-related deaths.

They investigated 20 clinical experiments on reported mortality risks for psychiatric illnesses, substance abuse, dementia, autistic spectrum disorder, learning difficulties and childhood behavior problems involving about 1.7 million people and 250,000 deaths. The experts also looked for recorded information on alcohol-related deaths and suicides and compared it with data on the number of deaths caused by smoking.

The analysis revealed the life expectancy of people with bipolar dropped by nine to 20 years. Schizophrenic patients have an average reduction of 10 to 20 years, while those who suffered from drug and alcohol abuse lost about nine to 24 years and depressed people had a reduction of seven to 11 years. It was observed that life span of heavy smokers declined by eight to 10 years.

'We found that many mental health diagnoses are associated with a drop in life expectancy as great as that associated with smoking 20 or more cigarettes a day," said  Seena Fazel, study author and researcher from the department of psychiatry at Oxford University in a press release.

The authors explained that early mortality rates in psychiatric patients were due to their risky behavior like drug and alcohol abuse and suicidal tendencies. Many refrain from seeking medical help and treatment to escape social stigma or because of non access. Some mental diseases also have a negative impact on the physical health and well being of the patients which progresses into cancer, heart diseases and diabetes.

Unlike smoking that is easy to identify and impose a restriction on, mental diseases occur discreetly. The study urges health officials, government and care providers to give equal importance to mental disorders and related health deteriorations.

'People with mental health problems are among the most vulnerable in society. This work emphasizes how crucial it is that they have access to appropriate healthcare and advice, which is not always the case. We now have strong evidence that mental illness is just as threatening to life expectancy as other public health threats such as smoking," said John Williams, Head of Neuroscience and Mental Health at the Welcome Trust that funded the study.

More information is available online in the journal World Psychiatry.

May 23, 2014 08:11 AM EDT

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