title: Increased prevalence of chronic physical health disorders in Australians with diagnosed mental illness.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare chronic physical health disorder prevalence amongst Australian adults with and without mental illness.
  
  
  METHODS
  Total n=1,716 participants (58% female) with a mean age of 52 ± 13 years (range: 18 to 89 years) completed an online survey of Australian adults in 2010. Outcome measures including prevalence of chronic physical conditions and self-reported body mass index (BMI) in n=387 (23%) with a self-reported mental illness diagnosis were compared to respondents without mental illness.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A significantly higher proportion of participants with mental illness were obese (BMI ≥ 30; 31 vs 24%, p=0.005). Adjusted odds ratios (OR) for coronary heart disease, diabetes, chronic bronchitis or emphysema, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, and food allergies or intolerances (OR range: 1.54-3.19) demonstrated that chronic physical disorders were significantly more common in participants with a mental illness.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Australian adults with a diagnosis for mental illness have a significantly increased likelihood of demonstrating chronic physical health disorders compared to persons without mental illness.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Health professionals must be alert to the increased likelihood of comorbid chronic physical disorders in persons with a mental illness and should consider the adoption of holistic approaches when treating those with either a mental or physical illness.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health and Social Science Research, CQUniversity, Queensland, Australia. d.scott@cqu.edu.au
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: Karena
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Brenda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Happell
authors.forename: Doreen
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Canoy
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ronan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D057566:Self Report; D055815:Young Adult