Key facts
- Adults with severe mental illness are nearly five times more likely to die from serious physical diseases before age 75.
- People with severe mental health problems die 15-20 years earlier than the general adult population.
- Adults under 75 with serious mental ill health are 6.3 times as likely to die from liver disease, 6 times from respiratory illness, 3.8 times from cardiovascular disease, and 2.3 times from cancer.
- They are 14.6 times as likely to die due to suicide compared to those not referred to specialist services.
- Cancer, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, and respiratory disease accounted for 56.5% of deaths for 18-74 year olds with severe mental health problems in England (2022-2024).
- Factors driving excess mortality include poverty, poor housing, higher smoking rates, medication side effects, inactivity, and fragmented care.
Adults with severe mental illness face a significantly higher risk of premature death from preventable physical conditions, dying on average 15 to 20 years earlier than their peers, according to an analysis of NHS data by the Rethink Mental Illness charity. The research indicates these individuals are nearly five times more likely to die from serious physical diseases before the age of 75.
The charity's calculations reveal stark disparities for specific conditions: adults under 75 with serious mental ill health are 6.3 times more likely to die from liver disease, six times more likely from respiratory illness, 3.8 times more likely from cardiovascular disease, and 2.3 times more likely from cancer. The risk of death by suicide is also significantly elevated, at 14.6 times higher compared to those not referred to specialist mental health services.
Overall, the study found that people with severe mental health problems are 4.8 times more likely to die before the age of 75. For working-age adults living with a mental illness, deaths from cardiovascular disease and cancer have reached their highest recorded levels, with over 24,000 deaths in each category during the 2022-2024 reporting period. These conditions, along with liver and respiratory diseases, accounted for more than half of all deaths among 18- to 74-year-olds with severe mental health issues in England during this time.
The report attributes these excess deaths to a combination of factors, including poverty, poor housing, higher rates of smoking, weight gain from medication, physical inactivity, and fragmented care. A significant contributing factor identified is "diagnostic overshadowing," where physical symptoms are mistakenly attributed to mental illness, leading to delayed or missed diagnoses and treatment.
These findings emerge ahead of the government's independent review of mental health, autism, and ADHD, which is expected to advocate for a more comprehensive approach to patient care. Mark Winstanley, chief executive of Rethink Mental Illness, described the situation as a "scandal" and emphasized that these early deaths are preventable, calling for a new cross-government mental health strategy to prioritize physical health checks and improve access to mental-health informed interventions.
Prof Subodh Dave, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, echoed these concerns, stating that severe mental illness should not be an "early death sentence" and that evidence-based solutions exist to close this gap. A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care acknowledged the stark health inequalities and outlined the government's commitment to transforming services for individuals with severe mental illness, including developing a new service framework and opening new community mental health centers.