Mortality Risk Doubled in Patients With Mental Disorders
Individuals with mental health disorders had more than double the mortality risk of than those without such disorders, according to a recent study.
In the past, researchers have studied the link between mental illness and mortality risk, however, there has not been any comprehensive meta-analyses to quantify the risk of death in these patients.
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For their analysis, researchers identified 2481 studies that had reports of mental disorders and mortality estimates either compared with a general population sample or controls without mental disorders. Of the studies, 203 were eligible based on the researcher’s criteria, which represented 29 countries across 6 continents.
Pooled relative risk for all-cause mortality among patients with mental disorders was 2.22. Further, 135 studies showed a significantly higher rate of death among patients with mental disorders compared to the general population.
A total of 67.3% of deaths among mental disorder patients were from natural causes, while 17.5% of cases were due to unnatural causes, and the remaining deaths were caused from unknown circumstances.
“These estimates suggest that mental disorders rank among the most substantial causes of death worldwide. Efforts to quantify and address the global burden of illness need to better consider the role of mental disorders in preventable mortality,” they concluded.
The complete study is published in the February issue of JAMA Psychiatry.
-Michelle Canales
Reference:
1. Walker ER, McGee RE, Druss BG, et al. Mortality in mental disorders and global disease burden implications. JAMA Psychiatry. 2015 February [epub ahead of print] doi: http://archpsyc.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2110027.