14 DAY TRIAL // People with a mental condition receive lower levels of preventative medical screening, compared to the general population, concluded a new research carried out by the University of Leicester along with the Leicestershire Partnership Trust (UK).
The leader of the study was Dr Alex Mitchell, of the Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine at the University of Leicester, and he said that preventive screening includes population based medical tests like mammography, colonoscopy, blood pressure testing or cholesterol levels, all that is necessary to detect conditions such as cancer, diabetes or heart conditions.
These programs are administered widely on purpose, so that they increase the chances of early detection or prevention, and they have proved to be successful in improving outcomes in several key medical conditions.
Dr Mitchell said that “the research at the University of Leicester identified 26 studies worldwide that examined levels of preventive care provided to over 1.3 million individuals with versus without mental ill health diagnoses.
“Inferior preventive care was most apparent in those with a diagnosis of schizophrenia where there was inferior osteoporosis screening, blood pressure monitoring, vaccinations, mammography and cholesterol monitoring in 9 out of 10 studies.”
“We have previously identified that people with mental health diagnoses are at high risk of poorer quality of medical care for active medical conditions, we now find this extends to preventive (mass) screening,” added the doctor, also an honorary senior lecturer at University of Leicester.
“It is concerning that people may receive inferior preventive care as a result of having mental health difficulties, past or present.
“Whilst this is sometimes related to low attendance, it is also appears to be caused by inequalities in the offer of care from healthcare professionals.
“Given those with mental ill health are often at high risk of medical complications, offers of preventive care should ideally be enhanced, not equal or inferior in this group”.
The current research revealed things about the care given by the medical staff in primary care and hospital care, so now Dr Mitchell’s team are analyzing whether medical care provided by mental health professionals is satisfactory.
This study has been published in the journal General Hospital Psychiatry.