Mortality and Medical Comorbidity in the Severely Mentally Ill.

Background: Mentally ill patients die on average 10 years earlier than the general population, largely due to general medical disorders. This study is the first to explore in a large German sample the prevalence, mortality, and medical comorbidity in pa- tients with severe mental illness (SMI). The patients were affected by borderline personality disorder (BPD), psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder, or severe unipolar depression.