Excess mortality from cancer in people with mental illness-Out of sight and out of mind (Editorial)

Abstract

The mortality rate for people with mental illness (MI) is approximately 70% more than for the general population even after adjusting for relevant factors such as socio-economic status.1 In the case of people with severe mental illness (SMI) such as schizophrenia the rate is even higher.1 As a result, their life expectancy is between 15 and 20 years less than that of the general population, a gap similar to that of Indigenous peoples.2 The vast majority of excess deaths are because of chronic physical disease. Indeed, excess mortality from chronic physical disorders is 10 times that of suicide yet receives far less attention.1, 2