Severe mental illness dementia stroke risk study

A large cross-sectional study based on health records from Catalonia, Spain, found that people with severe mental illness (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression) face substantially higher odds of dementia across all adult age groups and elevated odds of ischemic stroke in early and middle adulthood. The study, published in European Neuropsychopharmacology, analyzed nearly 700,000 records, including about 177,000 with severe mental illness. Among adults aged 30-39, those with severe mental illness had more than 20 times the odds of dementia compared to controls, though absolute prevalence remained low (0.55% vs 0.02%). For stroke, adults aged 40-49 had nearly three times the odds of ischemic stroke. The findings highlight the need for integrated physical and mental health care and earlier monitoring of cardiovascular and cognitive health. The study is observational and cannot establish causation. Researchers plan longitudinal studies to further investigate.