Director of Public Health Annual Report 2022: Preventing heart disease and stroke in Buckinghamshire
3.4 People with severe mental illness
People with a severe mental illness (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder) have more than a 50% higher risk of having cardiovascular disease and an 85% higher chance of dying from cardiovascular disease compared with people of similar age.
People with SMI are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease at an earlier age.
Certain risk factors for cardiovascular disease are more common in people with SMI, such as smoking and alcohol consumption. In addition, obesity and diabetes are more common and some (but not all) of this association may be explained by metabolic effects of some medication.