Taylor & Francis
A new study from Psychology, Health & Medicine highlights
just how complex the medical needs of many Americans now are.
As the authors of the study, Elizabeth Lee Reisinger Walker and
Benjamin G. Druss, observe: "The health of individuals in the U.S.A. is
increasingly being defined by complexity and multimorbidity, the co-occurrence
of two or more chronic medical conditions."
Given the medical and socio-economic difficulties often faced by
people with mental illness, and the lack of research into the other medical
conditions they might suffer from, the authors set out to discover, using
publicly available data, what proportion of US adults experience each
combination of mental illness, substance abuse/dependence and chronic mental
conditions.
They also investigated how those combinations of conditions were
related to poverty.
They found that overall, 18.4% of adults had a mental illness in
the past year, and 8.6% reported substance abuse/dependence during the same
time. Nearly 40% had one or more chronic medical conditions in their lifetimes,
and 14.7% were living in poverty.
When looked at together, 6.4% of individuals reported AMI and
chronic conditions, 2.2% reported AMI and substance abuse/dependence, 1.5%
reported substance abuse/dependence and chronic medical conditions, and 1.2% --
equivalent to 2.2 million people -- reported all three conditions.
The association between mental illness and substance abuse is
also laid bare by the study: people with AMI were over three times more likely
to report substance abuse/dependence, almost 1.5 times more likely to have a
chronic medical condition, and 1.2 times more likely to live in poverty.
As Elizabeth Lee Reisinger Walker commented on the research last
week: "Just over half of adults in the US have one or more chronic
condition, mental disorder, or dependence on substances. These conditions
commonly overlap with each other and with poverty, which contributes to poor
health."
The pair conclude that improving the health of people with
multimorbidities will involve increased access to and coordination between a
variety of services. As they observe: "Collaborative care models are
effective in treating mental illnesses in primary care and providing primary
care in specialty mental health settings."
Walker concludes: "In order to promote overall health, it
is important to consider all of a person's health conditions along with poverty
and other social factors."
But what the future holds for the 50% of Americans suffering
from multiple health challenges remains to be seen.