Serious Mental Illness

Social isolation, a common feature of SMI, compounds difficulties in managing physical health. Adverse effects of antipsychotic medications and reduced access to preventive care are among the multiple factors driving the physical health disparity in SMI. People with SMI have higher rates of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and respiratory disease, and lower life expectancy. People with SMI die 15–20 years earlier than the general population, a gap known as the mortality gap, with cardiovascular disease as a leading contributor. People with serious mental illness face significantly worse physical health outcomes than the general population. In 2023, the UK Office for Health Improvement and Disparities reported a substantial excess of deaths in people with SMI, identifying CVD and diabetes among the causes. Despite UK policy directives and incentivised annual health checks, people with SMI remain less likely to receive needed care for long-term physical health conditions. Poor mental health, such as depressive episodes, can interfere with patients' consistent engagement with a volunteer programme. Practices already struggling with routine workload are least able to adopt complex in…