Dietary advice for people with schizophrenia
Abstract
People living with serious mental illness (SMI) are at high risk of poor health and premature mortality, dying on average 20 years earlier than the general population due to preventable physical health issues (NHS England, 2016). Estimates suggest there would be up to 12,000 fewer deaths from cardiovascular disease (CVD) each year if people with SMI had the same outcomes as the general population (The Independent Mental Health Taskforce, 2016). The underlying causes reflect a complex and as, yet, poorly understood interaction of genetic predisposition, medication effects, and environmental factors. Internationally, there is a focus on improving physical health outcomes in people living with SMI and underpinning these, an emphasis on lifestyle, including smoking, weight, blood pressure, glucose regulation and blood lipids (NICE, 2017). Diet plays an important role in managing each of these factors. Many people living with schizophrenia do not meet the recommended daily intake for fruit and vegetables (Brown, Goetz, & Hamera, 2011) have a diet higher in fat, lower in fibre and a nutritional intake poorer in milk, potatoes, and beans (McCreadie, 2003) and a significantly higher total calorific intake and intake of carbohydrates and fat compared to the general population (Srassnig, Brar, & Ganguli, 2003). Dietary advice has been shown to improve diet in the general population (Brunner et al., 2007) and those with early changes in glucoregulation (Coppell et al., 2017), however research on dietary advice has been limited in people with SMI.
Document Type
Other
Date of Publication
2018
Volume
39
Issue
8
PubMed ID
30273095
School
School of Nursing and Midwifery
Copyright
subscription content
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Comments
Whitehead, L. (2018). Dietary advice for people with schizophrenia. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 39(8), 707-708. https://doi.org/10.1080/01612840.2018.1500836