A Lancet Psychiatry study analyzing 24 years of Queensland hospital data, involving about 180,000 patients, shows that people with severe mental illness develop serious physical diseases earlier and often accumulate multiple chronic conditions across different body systems.

The research finds that severe mental illness can shorten life expectancy by up to about 20 years, with physical illnesses driving much of the gap rather than suicide alone.

Researchers examined 11 major categories of physical illness—from cardiovascular and respiratory to metabolic and neurological—and found substantially higher rates among the 30,000 people with severe mental illness.

The study indicates physical conditions often emerge gradually over time, signaling missed prevention opportunities and a need for integrated care that treats the whole person, not just the mental health condition.

Dr. Sean Halstead stresses that integrated care should address both mental and physical health from diagnosis, highlighting missed prevention opportunities when physical conditions develop later.

The Lancet Psychiatry study contributes to a broader shift in understanding how severe mental illness interacts with physical health and calls for physical health considerations to begin at diagnosis.

The findings were published in Lancet Psychiatry and resulted from collaboration among institutions across Australia, the UK, Germany, Sweden, Finland, and Canada.

Genetic factors, medication effects (such as weight gain), higher smoking and alcohol use, barriers to healthcare access, and under-recognition of physical symptoms all contribute to health disparities in this population.

Co-author Professor Dan Siskind notes that schizophrenia and bipolar disorder may have broader bodily effects, with the link to physical disease still an evolving area.

The article advocates a shift in clinical practice toward integrating physical health care with psychiatric care to improve life expectancy for people with severe mental illness.

Prompt treatment and regular physical health monitoring from the moment of diagnosis could reduce the accumulation of chronic conditions and improve overall outcomes.

The study identifies younger adults, particularly women under 25, as experiencing disproportionately poorer physical health outcomes, with the strongest impact of severe mental illness on physical health in this group.