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Australians suffering from mental illness could experience a life expectancy 20 years shorter than the rest of the population, an alarming new report said.
The conclusions of a large working group, published in the journal Lancet Psychiatry Today, people with mental illness have also been confronted with a number of "drastic" physical health problems.
According to Joseph Firth, chair of the study commission and principal investigator at Western Sydney University's NICM Health Research Institute, many could experience a significant life expectancy of up to 20 years.
"This applies to a wide range of different mental health problems," Dr. Firth said.
"We are seeing high rates of cardiovascular and metabolic disease in people with depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and even people with alcohol and substance abuse disorders.
"It's not just a difference in life expectancy, but also a lack of quality of life and physical health issues that affect people with mental illness." through the ages, including quite young people. "
The degree of disparity between life expectancy has increased over time, Dr. Firth said, and continued to deteriorate.
The risk of major physical health problems resulting from mental illness is twice as high as that of people without mental illness.
On the other hand, there is also evidence that poor physical health could lead to mental health issues, said Dr. Firth.
"The rates of diagnosis of mental health problems are rising among young people. This seems related to rising rates of obesity among young people. And in the other direction, we know that a bad state of health causes a physical illness for many reasons. "
The report found that health problems such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease were the most common.
"These are the factors that usually lead to premature mortality in these populations when we talk about physical health," said Dr. Firth.
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Simon Rosenbaum, member of the National Board of Health and Medical Research of the University of New South Wales, led the "lifestyle" component of the study and stated that an intervention early was the key to combat life expectancy inequalities.
"We know what works in the population in terms of lifestyle interventions aimed at reducing the burden of chronic diseases such as diabetes and health-related illnesses," said Dr. Rosenbaum.
"We do not apply this to people living with mental illness for the moment. Part of that is redefining the way we think about standard mental health care. "
In vulnerable populations – especially young people with mental illness – traditional treatment with physical health interventions could help reverse the trends, he said.
"If you think of a young person going for treatment, he will consult a psychiatrist and a psychologist. The evidence clearly demonstrates that the use of non-traditional services – exercise physiology, paramedical services, smoking cessation treatment – should be part of the routine treatment of mental health treatment, "said Dr. Rosenbaum.
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The report also highlighted the intake of certain psychiatric drugs that may have various physical side effects, including lethargy and cravings.
"If we really want to change our lifestyle, we need to consider these things … when prescribing drugs," said Dr. Firth.
The health system has an infrastructure in primary care networks that could be better utilized to help reduce the gap in life expectancy.
People with physical illnesses are regularly referred to dietitians and exercise physiologists as part of efforts to combat bad lifestyle habits.
Dr. Rosenbaum said he is "completely subtitled" in the field of mental health at the moment.
"This is partly due to awareness and education, but also to a lack of knowledge about the location of providers," he said.
"We need to make sure these interventions are offered as part of standard care.
"The idea of dualism, the separation of mind and body, has completely disappeared. We need to integrate these strategies very early. "
If you or someone you know needs to talk to, contact Lifeline at 13 11 14 or visit lifeline.org.au
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