Study: people with severe mental illness die 15-20 years earlier from physical disease
New analysis of NHS data shows adults with severe mental illness are nearly five times more likely to die from physical diseases before age 75 than the general population, largely due to preventable and poorly treated conditions.
An analysis of NHS data by the charity Rethink Mental Illness has found that adults with severe mental health problems die 15 to 20 years earlier than the wider adult population. The group studied covers people referred to specialist secondary mental health services.
According to the calculations, these adults under 75 are 6.3 times more likely to die from liver disease, 6 times more likely from respiratory illness, 3.8 times more likely from cardiovascular disease, and 2.3 times more likely from cancer than those not referred to such services. They are also 14.6 times more likely to die by suicide. Overall, they are 4.8 times more likely to die before age 75 than the general population.
Record death tolls
For working-age adults with mental illness, deaths from cardiovascular disease and cancer reached their highest levels since records began in the 2022-2024 reporting period, with more than 24,000 deaths in each category. Cancer, cardiovascular disease, liver disease and respiratory disease together accounted for 56.5% of deaths among 18 to 74 year olds with severe mental health problems in England during this period, while suicide accounted for 7%.
The report's authors point to poverty, poor housing, higher smoking rates, medication-related weight gain, physical inactivity and fragmented care as drivers of this excess mortality. They also highlight "diagnostic overshadowing," where physical symptoms are wrongly attributed to mental illness, meaning potential physical illnesses are not properly investigated or treated.
Rethink chief executive Mark Winstanley called the situation a scandal, noting that many affected people are in frequent contact with health services, so opportunities to catch physical problems early are being missed. Prof Subodh Dave, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said evidence-based solutions such as smoking cessation and routine physical health checks already exist, but concerted action to implement them is lacking.
The Department of Health and Social Care said it is developing a new service framework and opening 100 new community mental health centres. The findings were published ahead of the government's independent review of mental health, autism and ADHD, expected this week.
