Tracking mental health

Millions of Australians living with common health issues such as asthma, hypertension, arthritis, cancer and diabetes are at higher risk of mental health conditions according to a new report.

Australia’s Mental and Physical Health Tracker (AMPHT) from the Australian Health Policy Collaboration (AHPC) at Victoria University, is the first Australian study to quantify the risks of physical health conditions contributing to mental health conditions.

AMPHT is the latest report card in the Australia’s Health Tracker series, and reveals strong links between chronic physical ill health and mental ill health.

Professor Allan Fels AO (AHPC Advisory Board member) said that the poor physical health and wellbeing of those with mental illness, and vice versa, was the “major weak point” of Australia’s generally good health system.

“With more than four million Australians living with a mental health conditions, we need to do much more to prevent diseases like heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and asthma compounding the effects of mental health,” Prof Fels said.

AHPC director Rosemary Calder said the numbers were staggering.

“Around 2.5 million people have both a mental and physical health condition, and the data shows that with either a physical or mental health condition, you are much more likely to also have the other,” she said.

The report showed:

• 1.075 million Australians are living with amental health condition and a circulatory disease such as heart failure or hypertension – Australia’s biggest killer
• 321,400 Australians are living with diabetes and a mental health condition
• Almost 960,000 Australians have arthritis and a mental health condition.

“We know there is strong evidence about the negative impact of mental health problems for people who already have chronic physical conditions, and equally strong evidence that having a mental-health problem increases the risk of every single major chronic disease,” Prof Fels said.

The report also highlights the large gender variations with males with mental health conditions are 49 per cent more likely to report having asthma and females 70.3 per cent more likely.

Males with mental health conditions are 82 per cent more likely to report having cancer, females 20 per cent more likely and females 23 per cent more likely to have a co-existing physical and mental health condition than males.

“The data clearly indicates significant differences for females and males in both risk factors and with correlated chronic health conditions. Our latest report highlights that gender matters in policy and in practice,” Prof Calder said.