Mental and physical
February 10, 2012
A NEW report from the Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare has
found that 12% of Australians aged
16-85 had a mental disorder and a
physical condition at the same time.
The research, aimed at
investigating the prevalence of
mental illness in association with
common chronic diseases, showed
that the most common comorbidity
was anxiety disorder combined
with a physical condition, affecting
around 1.4m (9%) Aussie adults.
Interestingly researchers found
that, in general, comorbidity
increased with decreasing
socioeconomic status, and that
people living in the most
disadvantaged areas of Australia
were 65% more likely to have
comorbidity than those living in
the least disadvantaged areas.
Researchers also found some risk
factors were more prevalent
amongst people with a mental
disorder, including smoking, whilst
people with a comorbidity had
higher rates of hospitalisation than
the three comparison groups.
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