Premature mortality of people with severe mental illness: a renewed focus for a new era (January 2022)

Summary

People with poor mental health tend to experience poorer physical health and are more likely to die younger. This perspective article by consultant psychiatrist Peter Byrne aims to apply public health principles to improving the physical health of selected groups with mental health issues. It presents evidence of the lifetime effects of adverse childhood experiences and inequalities: the ‘causes of the causes’, outlines seven drivers of physical disorders that cause preventable deaths, and describes how psychiatrists must work with mental health teams to reverse rising mortality.