Mental health and longevity
There are many factors that scholars have postulated as being responsible for longevity, such as the genetic and the environmental factors.
One that is crucial but often neglected is the mind. When one considers the agelong issue of nature versus nurture, then the precarious association between mental well-being and longevity becomes very important. Irrespective of the genetic factors, the modifying effect of the mind through healthy life-styles may eventually be a great factor for longevity. Unfortunately, in the quest for longevity, folks seek medical attention for the care of other aspects of their bodies except that of the mind, which is a strong determinant of longevity.
Oxford university psychiatrists have shown that serious mental illnesses reduce life expectancy by 10 to 20 years, which is a loss of years that is equivalent to or worse than that for heavy smoking.
The average reduction in life expectancy in people with bipolar disorder is between nine and 24 years for drug and alcohol abuse; and around seven and 11 years for recurrent depression.
All the mental illnesses studied showed an increase in reduction of life expectancy, though the size of the risk varied greatly.
Dr. Seena Fazel of the department of Psychiatry at Oxford University said, “We find that many mental health diagnoses are associated with a drop in life expectancy as great as that associated with smoking 20 or more cigarettes per day.
“There are likely to be many reasons for this. High risk behaviours are common in psychiatric patients, especially drug and alcohol abuse; and they are more likely to die by suicide.”
The stigma surrounding mental health may mean that they are usually not treated for physical health problems when they do see a doctor, since the approach is always to separate mental and physical illness.
However, many causes of mental illness also have physical consequences, and mental illness worsens the prognosis of a range of physical illness, especially heart diseases, diabetes and cancer. Unfortunately, people with serious mental illness may not even access the health care effectively.
Some years back, Cotton and Mandersheid surveyed causes of death from eight states in the United States and concluded that an average American with a major mental illness dies 14 to 32 years earlier than the general population.
It would appear that the increase in longevity enjoyed by the general US population over the past half century has been lost on those with a serious mental illness.
In fact, this drop in life expectancy due to mental illness would surpass the health disparities reported for most racial or ethnic groups. Yet, this population of the mentally ill is rarely identified as an at-risk group in social determinants of health and longevity.
People with mental illness are more than twice as likely to smoke cigarettes heavily, and more than 50 per cent are more likely to be obese through physical inactivity, compared to the rest of the population.
The major drivers are, namely, the illness itself, the consequent socio-economic deprivation and the discriminatory health system.
People with a major depressive disorder are at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. Folks with diabetes have double risk for depression, while we do not fully understand the relationship between diabetes or heart disease and depression . But current thinking attributes the increased risk to both depressive behaviours like poor diet, low activity, as well as poor adherence to treatment.
The unavoidable fact is that longevity cannot be improved without addressing the consequences of mental illness. Evidence of the mind-body connection is also very crucial factors in longevity.
Negative emotions, for example, while they may not immediately cause a disease, may appear to accelerate its progression. Diseases progress faster in folks who are withdrawn than those who live openly.
This is likely because the brain translates the fear of rejection and isolation into physical stress, which can weaken the immune system.
It is very clear that people who are more positive are more likely to survive and to survive longer. Negative emotions have the tendency to release chemicals that can poison the blood and make people engage in behaviours that are dangerous to health.
Those with the worst outlook on ageing, who described older people as “feeble, helpless, and absent minded,” were, consequently, more likely to have had a heart attack or stroke than those with more positive views on growing old.
Likewise, research suggests that people who perceive themselves as being in poor health, even if they are not, may die sooner than those who consider themselves healthy.
The positive-minded folks visit their doctors regularly, eat a balanced diet, maintain an appropriate weight, use a seat belt and avoid tobacco, with minimal engagement in risky behaviours.
Such folks also parade a healthy work-life balance and a temperate world view. All these are, essentially, attributes of mental well-being.
PUNCH.
