Comorbidity between Mental and Physical Disorders

This book provides a comprehensive approach to the relationship between severe mental disorders and physical comorbidities. Patients with severe mental disorders face a significantly reduced life expectancy, compared to the general population, of up to 10-25 years. Factors associated with the high mortality rates in patients with severe mental disorders can be grouped into four categories: those related to the patients, to psychiatrists, to other non-psychiatrist medical doctors, and to the healthcare system. Each of these factors should become the target of specific and dedicated interventions in order to reduce the morbidity and mortality rate in patients with severe mental disorders.

The book is divided into four sections: The first one delves into the public health importance of comorbidity. The second section is dedicated to the pathogenesis of comorbidity. The third section addresses comorbidities of disorders of major public health importance. The closing section provides practical guidance on managing mental and physical comorbidities.

This book will be essential reading for psychiatrists, general practitioners, medical specialists, public health professionals, and anyone involved in the care and treatment of patients with severe mental disorders. It will also be a key resource for researchers and policymakers looking to develop effective strategies to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with these conditions.

Preface. - I. The public health importance of comorbidity. - 1. The Burden of Comorbidity Between Mental and Physical Disorders: Identification, Management, and Treatment. - 2. Impact of comorbidity on patients with medical psychiatric illness. - 3. Physical comorbidities in people suffering from severe mental disorders living in Low- and Medium-Income Countries. - II. The pathogenesis of comorbidity. - 4. The common biological and social bases for physical and mental disorders: focus on inflammation and neuroendocrine system. - 5. The Neurobiology of Comorbidities. - 6. Clinical characterization of the co-occurrence of mental and physical disorders. - III. Comorbidities of disorders of major public health importance. - 7. Somatic comorbidities in people with eating disorders. - 8. Comorbidity between severe mental disorders and metabolic disease. - 9. Severe mental disorders and cancer. - 10. Severe mental disorders and cardiovascular diseases. - 11. Tuberculosis and mental health. - 12. Comorbidity between mental and physical disorders in children and adolescents: identification, management, and treatment. - 13. Covid-19 and mental disorders. - IV. Dealing with problems of comorbidity and multimorbidity. - 14. Lifestyle in mental and physical disorders. - 15. Managing mental and physical comorbidities in consultation-liaison psychiatry. - 16. Humanistic Cancer Care: a comprehensive approach. - 17. The interplay between psychiatry, general practitioners, and other specialists. - 18. The role of pharmacotherapy in the management of comorbidities. - 19. The management of comorbidities: the role of psychosocial interventions. - 20. Digital psychiatry for the treatment of comorbid disorders. - 21. Medical education and specialty training needs on comorbidities. - Conclusion.