Preventable physical conditions – not suicide – are driving this ‘hidden health crisis’ for 500,000 people.
The research, conducted by King’s Health Partners, Maudsley Charity and the Policy Institute at King’s College London, warns this lack of awareness masks a ‘hidden health crisis’ for the more than 500,000 people living with severe mental illness (SMI) in the UK.
SMI – including schizophrenia, psychosis and bipolar disorder – shortens life more than diabetes, obesity or smoking. Yet only one in nine people know how large this gap is, even though smoking or severe obesity cuts life expectancy by about 10 years and type-1 diabetes by eight.
The study, based on a survey of 2,000 UK adults, revealed limited understanding of why mortality is higher among those with SMI. Half of respondents incorrectly believed suicide is the leading cause of death, while few recognised the role of treatable physical health conditions or the disproportionate impact on Black communities and urban populations.
‘People with severe mental illness face one of the greatest health inequalities of our time, dying 15 to 20 years early,’ Professor Matthew Hotopf CBE, deputy executive at King’s Health Partners, said. ‘Yet our findings show the public has little awareness of the scale of this mortality gap, or that it’s driven primarily by treatable physical health conditions.
‘This hidden health crisis demands urgent attention and King’s Health Partners is committed to driving this change.’
The survey also showed strong public support for improving healthcare for people with SMI, with two-thirds (67%) agreeing that better care is needed to improve life expectancy.
However, opinions were divided on whether this is achievable or a priority for the healthcare system, with younger adults particularly sceptical.
‘For too long, we have accepted early deaths of people with severe mental illness, but they are preventable,’ Sarah Holloway, choef executive officer of Maudsley Charity, added.
‘Two thirds of the public agree that better healthcare needs to be provided to improve the life expectancy of those with SMI, and that includes proactive physical health screening and basic reasonable adjustments in all physical health services and pathway.’
The research also highlighted shifting public perceptions of mental health. Mental illness is now tied with cancer as the biggest perceived health problem facing the UK, with 72% of respondents saying mental and physical health are equally important. Yet only 33% felt the healthcare system treats them equally.
Professor Bobby Duffy, director of the Policy Institute at King’s College London, said: ‘The key to better outcomes is to recognise and prioritise that connection [between physical and mental health].
‘The real causes of the shockingly shorter life expectancies of people with severe mental illness are not, as the public believe, suicide or alcohol and drug abuse, but are instead related to physical conditions not being diagnosed or treated among this group, alongside lifestyle factors and the impact of medications.’
The full report can be accessed here.
Photo: Adrian Swancar via UnSplash
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