title: Excess mortality from mental, neurological and substance use disorders in the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Mortality-associated burden of disease estimates from the Global Burden of Disease 2010 (GBD 2010) may erroneously lead to the interpretation that premature death in people with mental, neurological and substance use disorders (MNSDs) is inconsequential when evidence shows that people with MNSDs experience a significant reduction in life expectancy. We explore differences between cause-specific and excess mortality of MNSDs estimated by GBD 2010.
  
  
  METHODS
  GBD 2010 cause-specific death estimates were produced using the International Classification of Diseases death-coding system. Excess mortality (all-cause) was estimated using natural history models. Additional mortality attributed to MNSDs as underlying causes but not captured through GBD 2010 methodology is quantified in the comparative risk assessments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In GBD 2010, MNSDs were estimated to be directly responsible for 840 000 deaths compared with more than 13 million excess deaths using natural history models.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Numbers of excess deaths and attributable deaths clearly demonstrate the high degree of mortality associated with these disorders. There is substantial evidence pointing to potential causal pathways for this premature mortality with evidence-based interventions available to address this mortality. The life expectancy gap between persons with MNSDs and the general population is high and should be a focus for health systems reform.
authors.affiliation: Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research,Wacol,Queensland,Australia.
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Charlson
authors.affiliation: Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research,Wacol,Queensland,Australia.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Baxter
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization,Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse,Geneva.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dua
authors.affiliation: University of Washington, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation,Seattle,Washington,USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Degenhardt
authors.affiliation: Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research,Wacol,Queensland,Australia.
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Whiteford
authors.affiliation: University of Washington, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation,Seattle,Washington,USA.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vos
keywords: neuropsychiatry