Study: serious mental illness cuts life expectancy

Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 20, 2007 at midnight

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Serious mental illness can lower a person's life expectancy by 25 years, according to a new study which Colorado doctors say the state should consider as it drafts a health-insurance plan.

The study, in the Journal of the American Medical Association says the quarter-century loss of life expectancy is due mostly to increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Regardless of where on the economic rung they begin life, people with schizophrenia or manic depression tend to skid to the bottom rungs, say mental health professionals.

There, they tend to eat bad food, and either have no health coverage or forget to go a doctor, and become heavy smokers.

By the time such people reach their 40s they may have mental illness for 25 or 30 years, and a history of tobacco and substance abuse almost as long.

Anti-psychotic medicines themselves can raise cholesterol levels, exacerbating the risks for heart disease, said Dr. Steve Holsenbeck, medical director for Colorado Health Networks, a partnership of eight community mental health centers, serving 43 counties.

The mental and physical problems can escalate in tandem, and it's a mistake to think that one or the other has to take precedent, said Holsenbeck.

"All these problems need to be addressed," Holsenbeck said. "We need to do more to make it easy to treat these disorders."

A start would be better communication between primary care doctors and psychiatrists, he said. Both of them can't assume that it's the other one's job to know about and take care of the physical problems of the patient.

"I'm pleased that JAMA has picked up on this, because it's read by doctors of all kinds," Holsenbeck said. "We really need to work hand-in-hand with people with serious mental illness."

George delGrosso, executive director of the Colorado Behavioral Healthcare Council, says the statistics are a wake-up call, not just for the health care industry but for policymakers.

A blue ribbon panel is making recommendations to lawmakers on how to get to near-universal health care in the state. DelGrosso said it would be a mistake to leave mental health behind.

"Thousands of Coloradans are at risk," delGrosso said. "We must take into account their mental health treatment needs."

Many of Colorado's community mental health centers do have wellness programs that help clients with their diets and with quitting smoking, he said.

Some already are good models for connecting with family doctors for the overall good of the client.

It's essential that communication be a two-way street, he said.

scanlon@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-442-8729

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