Preventable Physical Health Disparities
Severe Mental Illness Is Linked To A Ten Year Shorter Lifespan
Anonymous
Key Points
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The NHS analysis defined severe mental illness as conditions affecting adults who had been referred to specialist secondary mental-health services, rather than using a broader diagnosis-based population measure.
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In England, cancer and cardiovascular disease each accounted for just under 19% of deaths among 18- to 74-year-olds with severe mental illness; respiratory disease accounted for 11%, liver disease for 8% and suicide for 7%. Together, the four major physical diseases made up 56.5% of deaths.
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The English charity’s calculations found that deaths from cardiovascular disease and cancer among working-age people with mental illness were each above 24,000 in the 2022-2024 reporting period—the highest levels recorded for those conditions.
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The Queensland study analyzed hospital mortality data for about 255,000 patients over 14 years and included people with depressive, neurotic and stress disorders, alcohol- and drug-use disorders, and schizophrenia.
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Lead researcher Mike Trott said the overall improvement in mortality was “encouraging but worrisome”: he viewed longer lives among many patients as evidence that the health-care system was moving in the right direction, while the unchanged mortality rate among people with psychosis showed that the sickest patients were not benefiting from better care.
People with severe mental illness die roughly a decade earlier than the general population, with preventable physical diseases driving most of the excess deaths. Rethink Mental Illness found that adults in England with severe mental illness are 4.8 times more likely to die before age 75, facing sharply elevated risks from heart disease, cancer, respiratory illness, and liver disease alongside suicide.
Separate research from the University of Queensland tracked mortality over 14 years and found men with severe mental illness die about 12 years earlier than other men, and women about 10 years earlier. While the overall gap has narrowed, mortality among people with psychosis—such as schizophrenia—has stalled, suggesting the sickest patients are not benefiting from improvements in care.
Physical Diseases Drive Most Deaths
Cancer and heart disease each account for just under 19% of deaths among working-age people with severe mental illness in England. Respiratory disease causes 11% of deaths, liver disease 8%, and suicide 7%. Together, these four diseases account for 56.5% of all deaths in this population. In 2022–2024, deaths from heart disease and cancer among working-age people with mental illness each exceeded 24,000—the highest levels ever recorded, Rethink Mental Illness reported.
Poverty and Lifestyle Factors Fuel the Disparity
Researchers and advocates point to multiple preventable causes behind the early deaths. Poverty limits access to healthy food and exercise. Smoking rates are high. Medications for mental illness can cause weight gain. Many patients struggle with physical inactivity. Care is often fragmented—mental health services and physical health services don't communicate well. Doctors sometimes dismiss physical symptoms as merely signs of mental illness, delaying treatment for serious conditions.
Australia's Stalled Progress Shows Who Is Left Behind
The University of Queensland analyzed hospital data on roughly 255,000 patients with various mental health conditions over 14 years. Lead researcher Mike Trott called the overall improvement in mortality "encouraging but worrisome." Longer lifespans among many patients show the health-care system is working better. But people with psychosis—the most severe illnesses—are not living longer, signaling that the sickest patients are still being left behind by current care systems.
To close the gap, researchers say physical health must be treated as seriously as mental health. Screening for heart disease, cancer, and other major illnesses must become routine. Patients need access to exercise programs, smoking cessation support, and stable housing. Without urgent action, millions of people with severe mental illness will continue to lose a full decade of life to preventable disease.
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