Mental Disorders Tied To Reduced Life Expectancy

The NPR (5/23, Singh) “Shots” blog reported that according to a study online published May 23 in the journal World Psychiatry, “mental disorders can reduce life expectancy by 10 to 20 years, as much as or even more than smoking over 20 cigarettes a day.” Researchers arrived at that conclusion after examining “data on 1.7 million patients, drawing from 20 recent scientific reviews and studies from mostly wealthy countries.”

HealthDay (5/24, Preidt) reported that “the average life expectancy was 10 to 20 years shorter than normal for people with schizophrenia, 9 to 20 years shorter for those with bipolar disorder, 7 to 11 years shorter for those with recurrent depression, and 9 to 24 years shorter for people with drug and alcohol abuse.” In comparison, “heavy smoking shortens life by an average of 8 to 10 years, the study authors noted.”

Related Links:

— “Mental Illness Can Shorten Lives More Than Chain-Smoking,” Maanvi Singh, National Public Radio, May 23, 2014.

Posted in In The News.