As it appears, smoking may not be as bad as having a mental disorder. Apparently, a mental disorder could reduce your life expectancy by 10 to 20 years at most, which is more than smoking 20 cigarettes per day, according to a new study.
We know for a fact that smoking is one of the leading causes of cancer and heart diseases, but when it comes down to mental illness causing early deaths, we are not clear on how this is even possible. Usually, mental illness would likely cause a person to commit suicide.
According to the study, researchers looked at over 1.7 million patients' data, which comes from 20 recent scientific reviews and studies from mainly countries with immense wealth, and over 250,000 deaths.
"We found that many mental health diagnoses are associated with a drop in life expectancy as great as that associated with smoking 20 or more cigarettes a day," Dr. Seena Fazel, of the department of psychiatry, at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.
The study shows that people with bipolar disorder have an average reduction in life expectancy of between 9 and 20 years, and between 10 and 20 years for folks suffering from schizophrenia. In addition, folks with recurrent depression have an average reduction in life expectancy of between 7 and 11 years, and between 9 and 24 years for drug and alcohol abusers.
People who smoke on a regular basis, according to the study, have an average reduction in life expectancy of between 8 and 10 years.
"People with mental health problems are among the most vulnerable in society. This work emphasizes how crucial it is that they have access to appropriate healthcare and advice, which is not always the case," said Dr. John Williams, head of Neuroscience and Mental Health at the Wellcome Trust.
We still find this study difficult to believe, but if it is true, then mental illness could surpass smoking in importance. It is no secret that taking care of our health is important, but we may now have to place more emphasis on our mental health, because if this study is true, then millions of individuals in the world are at odds.
