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Psychosis and Physical Comorbidity

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Book cover Mental Health and Illness of Women

Part of the book series: Mental Health and Illness Worldwide ((MHIW))

Abstract

The life expectancy of men and women who suffer from psychotic illnesses is substantially shorter than that of the general population, with 90% of deaths attributable to the sequelae of physical illness. Suicide, accidents, and homicide account for the remaining 10%. Many of the responsible physical illnesses are brought on by heavy smoking, drinking, and lack of activity in the lives of individuals with psychosis. Some of the comorbidity may arise from psychotic illnesses sharing susceptibility genes with seemingly unrelated physical illnesses. Many diseases result from the adverse effects of antipsychotic treatment. It is also reported that the high mortality is due, to some degree, to delays in diagnosis and treatment for which physician stigmatization of mental illness is partially to blame. In many of the comorbid conditions, men and women are unequally affected. This chapter reviews the physical illnesses that complicate the lives of individuals with psychosis and suggests that the responsibility for preventing them is shared among patients, healthcare providers, and health systems. New ways of approaching this escalating problem are urgently needed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Mary V. Seeman

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  1. Mary V. Seeman
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Correspondence to Mary V. Seeman .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. N Inst. of Mental Health & Neurosciences, Bangalore, India

    Prabha Chandra

  2. University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

    Helen Herrman

  3. Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

    Jane Fisher

  4. CenterforGenderResearch& Early Detection, University Hospital of Basel, Basel, Switzerland

    Anita Riecher-Rössler

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© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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Seeman, M.V. (2019). Psychosis and Physical Comorbidity. In: Chandra, P., Herrman, H., Fisher, J., Riecher-Rössler, A. (eds) Mental Health and Illness of Women. Mental Health and Illness Worldwide. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0371-4_20-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0371-4_20-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-0371-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-0371-4

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