Troubled mind leads to poor quality of life
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PEOPLE with long-term mental health problems in Halton are far more likely to suffer from poor quality of life, a survey has shown.
Patients in Runcorn and Widnes with conditions such as depression, dementia, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia were asked to rate the state of their health as part of a major NHS-sponsored survey.
They gave themselves an average score of 0.5 when it came to how they felt and how physically able they were – where one indicates full health. By contrast, the average score for all respondents in Halton was 0.8.
Throughout England, people with a long-term mental health problem rated their quality of life at 0.5 on average, while the average score for all patients again came to 0.8 – the same as in Halton.
Patients taking the survey were asked a variety of questions about their state of health between July 2015 and March 2016.
These were based around whether people have problems walking, their ability to care for themselves (for example by washing or dressing), the extent to which they can perform everyday activities such as work or study, their levels of anxiety or depression, and whether or not they experience pain or discomfort.
Their answers were used to generate age-standardised averages.
The low score for people with long-term mental health problems does not necessarily mean that everyone with these conditions will experience physical problems as well – in some cases it is the other way round.
Physical and mental health are inextricably linked and people who live with a long-term physical condition – such as diabetes, arthritis or asthma – are also likely to experience mental ill-health.
Mark Rowland, spokesman at the Mental Health Foundation, said: “The penny is finally dropping. For too long, mental and physical health care has been disconnected.
“This NHS Digital Data reinforces the case for a more joined-up approach to our health care. It’s time to heed what the data tells us and connect the dots.
“Poor mental health puts people at increased risk of developing physical health problems and the reverse is also true.
“Mental health service users are statistically less likely to receive the routine checks they need (like blood pressure, weight and cholesterol) that might detect symptoms of these physical health conditions earlier. ●
“They are also not as likely to be offered help to give up smoking, reduce alcohol consumption and make positive adjustments to their diet.
“We’re calling on the healthcare profession to assess psychological wellbeing when treating the physical symptoms of a condition and vice versa.”