http://goo.gl/s10jct
The new meta-study was based on a range of clinical studies which reported mortality risk for a whole range of diagnoses - mental health problems, substance and alcohol abuse, dementia, autistic spectrum disorders, learning disability, and childhood behavioral disorders. In total, the review examined over 1.7 million individuals and more than 250,000 deaths. The findings appear in the journal World Psychiatry.
Some of the findings included:
- The average reduction in life expectancy in people with bipolar disorder was between 9 and 20 years.
- For schizophrenia, the reduction was between 10 and 20 years.
- A reduction of between 9 and 24 years for drug and alcohol abuse.
- Around 7 to 11 years for recurrent depression.
The researchers note that the loss of years among heavy smokers is 8 to 10 years. "We found that many mental health diagnoses are associated with a drop in life expectancy as great as that associated with smoking 20 or more cigarettes a day," said researcher Dr Seena Fazel.