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In fact, people with nine different mental health and developmental disabilities experienced higher mortality from Covid-19 over the period, exacerbating long-standing inequalities with the general population, the study reveals, which was published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe on Thursday. .
Researchers analyzed more than 160,000 deaths in the UK from March to June 2020 and found that deaths from Covid-19 among people with eating disorders were almost five times higher than the general population and four times higher in people with personality disorders and people with dementia. . Deaths were three times higher for people with schizophrenia, according to the study.
“It was a substantial increase,” study lead author Jayati Das-Munshi, of the Department of Social and Psychiatric Epidemiology at King’s College London, told CNN.
“We weren’t expecting this mortality gap to improve, certainly not, but I think the extent to which it got worse was actually quite shocking.”
The researchers analyzed anonymized data from clinical records of patients in South London. They assessed death rates in nine mental health conditions and intellectual disabilities, as well as by ethnicity.
All ethnic groups represented in the sample experienced an excess risk of death during the period, Das-Munshi said.
“All-cause mortality among people with dementia and learning disabilities more than doubled in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the equivalent quarter of 2019,” the study reads.
“A high risk of all-cause mortality was also evident” in people with substance use disorders, schizophrenia, personality disorders and other mental health problems, he continues.
Das-Munshi said this is an issue medical professionals have been aware of for decades.
“There is a long-standing concern that people with mental health problems do not receive the same standard of care for their health as people with physical health problems, but of course this has been further exacerbated by the pandemic, ”she told CNN.
From July to September 2020, death rates fell as Covid-19 cases declined and the UK eased its lockdown. However, the rates were still double those of the general population, a situation similar to that before the pandemic.
About two-thirds of deaths among people with mental health problems are caused by preventable physical conditions, such as diabetes, which could be better managed, Das-Munshi said.
Some of these underlying conditions are also linked to worse outcomes from Covid-19 infection, she added.
“It comes back to this question that we really need to think about improving access to preventive health interventions,” Das-Munshi said.
“It can range from screening for cancer to managing cardiovascular disease, to quitting smoking, getting vaccinations, encouraging people to take offers of vaccines, and that sort of thing.”
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