Health for some, why not health for all?

2006 and the health news for Australians is pretty good according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's (AIHW) latest report, Australia's Health 2006.

Australia's international ranking for numerous aspects of health is among the top 10 of the world's developed countries.

The good news is we're living longer, overall death rates from cardiovascular disease and cancer are falling and we're improving in terms of our health behaviours, with fewer people smoking and taking drugs, alcohol being the exception.

The less positive news is that we're still facing challenges in terms of our sedentary lifestyles, increasing obesity and incidence of Type 2 diabetes.

However, the future is much less rosy if you happen to be a member of the Indigenous population or suffer from a mental health condition. There is little in the report to suggest that the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders is improving.

'Death rates of Indigenous infants remain about 3 times those of other Australian infants, and about 70% of Indigenous Australians die before reaching 65, compared with a little over 20% for other Australians.'

Shocking statistics.

Mental ill-health is listed in the report as the leading cause of the non-fatal burden of disease, with approximately 1 in 5 Australians likely to experience mental ill health at some time in their lives. On a day when stories regarding lack of psychiatric resources are again in the news, to hear that Australia's international ranking regarding mortality from suicide has fallen is sobering.

Time to pause for thought before we pat ourselves on the back.

Physical health and the mentally ill

A study from the UK, presented to the American Psychiatric Association, has revealed that physical health problems often go undetected in the mental health population.

It is reported that people with severe mental health problems tend to have higher rates of heart disease and diabetes and die between 10 and 15 years earlier than those not affected by such conditions. However, less than one third of 966 individuals with serious mental illness reviewed as part of the study had received health checks to assess their physical state. Moreover, the study revealed high smoking, blood pressure and obesity rates among participants.

Unfortunately, while this highlights the importance of looking at the wider needs of the mentally ill, it seems that little has changed. Similar findings were reported by UK mental health charity Rethink, formerly the National Schizophrenia Fellowship (NSF), in 2002, with the NSF requesting annual physical checkups for all individuals experiencing mental illness.

Paul Corry, of UK mental health charity Rethink says that "Physical decline can be as serious a risk as mental illness in those with serious mental illness. It is critical that annual physical health checks are built into ongoing management plans so that people with severe mental illness can optimise their quality of life and achieve a sense of physical and mental well-being."

Let's hope someone is prepared to act this time around.

Resources:

Fear over health of mentally ill
Health check demand for mentally ill
Physical health of people with severe mental illness