Article Excerpt: Mental disorders can reduce life expectancy by 10 to 20 years, as much as or even more than smoking over 20 cigarettes a day, a study finds.
We know that smoking boosts the risk of cancer and heart disease, says Dr. Seena Fazel, a psychiatrist at Oxford University who led the study. But aside from the obvious fact that people with mental illnesses are more likely to commit suicide, it’s not clear how mental disorders could be causing early deaths.
Full Article: http://tinyurl.com/pro273a
Article Source: National Public Radio (NPR)