The national centre for register-based research at Aarhus BSS (NCRR) has previously shown a correlation between mental disorders and premature mortality. The high mortality rate within the group was partly attributed to suicide, but this follow-up study reveals how people with mental illnesses have a higher risk of suffering so-called comorbid physical diseases, which might contribute to the higher mortality rate.

The demographic study is based on the Danish national registers, employing patient data from 5.9 million people living in Denmark from 2000 to 2016. The study maps out ten types of mental disorders and nine broad categories of physical illnesses, which are divided into gender and age groups, as well as relative and absolute risk. The study shows that the majority of mental disorders are accompanied by an increased risk of developing the examined physical illnesses.

As an example of the study’s findings, the absolute risk of women with anxiety disorders developing a heart condition, or suffering a stroke, is increased by 50 percent.  

A new element to the research is the measurement of relative risk, which examines the risk of developing a physical illness by a person suffering a mental condition, compared to a person in the same demographic group without a mental condition. In light of these comparisons, researchers now know that within 15 years of being diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, 3 in 10 women will develop a heart condition or suffer a stroke, to give one example.

The researchers behind the study hope that the new, detailed knowledge of the comorbidity between specific mental and physical illnesses will enable clinicians to give psychiatric patients more targeted and preventive care.

The study’s results can be read in the article “Association between Mental Disorders and Later Medical Conditions,” published in the acclaimed scientific journal, New England Journal of Medicine.

The relation between different diseases can be further explored on this interactive website:

http://nbepi.com