Mental Illness and Early Death Rates
An article in the Huffington Post points out that persons with serious mental illness die at a much earlier age than the rest of us. Four out of one hundred persons we encounter could have a serious mental illness – see this link.
“People diagnosed with serious mental illness — schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or severe depression — die 20 years early, on average, because of a combination of lousy medical care, smoking, lack of exercise, complications of medication, suicide, and accidents. They are the most discriminated-against and neglected group in the U.S., which has become probably the worst place in the developed world to be mentally ill.”
When substance use (alcohol or drugs) is involved, the risk is higher of course.