A recently published research paper has found that people with severe mental illness die too soon.
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The study, titled Gone Too Soon: priorities for action to prevent premature mortality associated with mental illness and mental distress was published in The Lancet Psychiatry and was written by 40 global experts, including head of the psychiatry department at Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Professor Soraya Seedat.
The study followed an extensive road mapping process of evidence reviews and consultation with mental health researchers, clinicians, policy experts and people with lived experience of mental illnesses and suicide, finding that there are a range of factors that increase the risk of early mortality for people who are suffering from mental health conditions.
Among others, these include adversities such as unemployment, stigma, marginalisation, a lack of meaningful societal relationships, poor access to healthcare, education, housing, income security and traumatic life events.
‘One in three South Africans has a mental health condition and mental disorders rank among the top ten leading causes of disease burden in South Africa,’ Seedat, who is also co-director of the SA Medical Research Council’s Unit on Anxiety and Stress Disorders, explained.
‘Physical health conditions and suicide are the two foremost reasons why people with mental illness die many years earlier than people without any mental illness.’
‘Both are preventable and need to be prioritised, as do other factors that contribute to the increased risk of premature death, such as trauma exposure, unemployment, income insecurity, social exclusion, stigma and poor access to healthcare.’
Delivering integrated healthcare, community-based interventions, restriction of access to lethal means of suicide, reduction of inequalities and an increased investment in mental health services and research were among the 18 recommendations outlined in the paper.
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