Government data reveals impact of severe mental illness during pandemic

Newly released government figures have shown that premature deaths of adults with a severe mental illness rose by more than a fifth during the Covid pandemic.  

Data from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) found that 42,815 adults with a mental illness died before the age of 75 during the first year of the pandemic – a rise of 22% from the pre-pandemic average of 35,025.

For people without a severe mental illness, 132,140 people aged 18 to 74 died during the first year of the pandemic compared to an annual average of 112,850 people in the three years before the pandemic – a rise of 17%. 

Both pre-pandemic and during the pandemic, the rate of premature deaths among adults with a severe mental illness was nearly five times as high as the rate among adults without a severe mental illness, with the disparity rising slightly during the pandemic.

The OHID report also found that Black and Asian adults with severe mental illness experienced the largest increase in premature mortality during the pandemic. The greatest increase in premature mortality was among people living in deprived areas. 

The Centre for Mental Health said the inequalities must drive urgent change. Chief executive Andy Bell said: ‘We already know that people living with a severe mental illness have a life expectancy 15-20 years shorter than the rest of the population. This data provides yet more evidence of this deep injustice, as well as its undeniable links to poverty and racism.

‘The government must act now. Its planned Major Conditions Strategy could set a target to close the life expectancy gap within a decade, and put in place the necessary actions to protect the health of people living with a mental illness.

‘The NHS has taken some important steps to address this injustice since the 2019 Long Term Plan, including offering smoking cessation services to people in hospitals and ensuring that more people with a severe mental illness are getting a full annual health check.

‘But we cannot stop there. We need concerted action to ensure people with a mental illness have fair access to vaccination programmes, cancer screening, stop smoking services in the community, dentistry, money advice and opportunities for physical activity.’

Image: Sinitta Leunen

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