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Linda Chafetz, DNSc, Department of Community Health Systems, University of California at San Francisco, 2 Koret Way, San Francisco, CA 94143-0608, Mary Castle White, RN, MPH, PhD, Community Health Systems, University of California, San Francisco, 2 Koret Way, San Francisco, CA 94143-0608, (415) 476-5213, mcwhite@itsa.ucsf.edu, Gerri Collins-Bride, RN, MS, ANP, Community Health Systems, University of California San Francisco, 2 Koret Way, San Francisco, CA 94143-0608, and John Nickens, PhD, San Francisco Progress Foundation, 368 Fell St., San Francisco, CA 94102.
Implications of premature physical aging among severely mentally ill adults
Background. General health problems among people with mental disorders shorten span of life span and undermine its quality. The literature confirms premature mortality from medical causes, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes. While environmental and behavioral risk factors contribute to morbidity and mortality, psychiatric treatments are also implicated.
Methods. 309 adults with major affective and schizophrenic spectrum diagnoses were recruited for a clinical trial of a health promotion model. Participants completed baseline assessments of a range of clinical and demographic variables including health status. Physical health scores from the SF-36 were compared to age related norms for this instrument and examined for associations with demographic and clinical risk factors.
Results. Ages ranged from 18 to 58 with a mean of 38.2. In each 10 year age group, scores for physical health status corresponded to norms for cohorts ten to twenty years older. Further analyses examined the impact of demographic and clinical risk factors on physical health, including drug and alcohol use. Controlling for known risk factors, mental illness, particularly schizophrenic spectrum disorders, appears to have an independent impact on physical health.
Discussion. The mean age in this sample is reflective of similar groups with psychiatric disorders nationwide. Their physical age, as indicated by scores for physical health, appears to exceed chronological age, with serious implications for community mental health programs that provide their care. Research is needed to identify effective psychosocial interventions to promote their medical risk reduction and self care.
Learning Objectives: Learning objectives
Keywords: Adult and Child Mental Health, Health Promotion
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.