"The gap between life expectancy in patients with a mental illness and the general population has widened since 1985 and efforts to reduce this gap should focus on improving physical health, suggest researchers in a paper published today on BMJ....
"The study demonstrates a widening gap in life expectancy of 16 years for males and 12 years for females: the overall gap has increased by 2.4 years for males and 1.6 years for females since 1985. The researchers believe the increased gap is "largely driven by increasing life expectancy in the general population rather than a reduction in life expectancy in psychiatric patients". The widest gap in life expectancy was observed in people with alcohol and drug disorders and this was maintained through the period of the study. Substance abuse is a well-established risk for cardiovascular disease and many cancers which makes these findings less surprising...."
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-life-gap-widens-mental-illness.html
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