Guess Who Gets Killed the Most?

It's those with mental illness. According to Nicholas Bakalar, "people with mental illness may be at sharply increased risk of dying by homicide, a new study has found."

Bakalar reported that, "after controlling for age, education level, income and other factors, they found that people with mental illness were almost five times as likely to be a victim of murder as a person without a psychiatric diagnosis."

Substance abusers, for obvious reasons, were among those most likely to be victims of homicide -- 9 times the risk of the average population. Those with personality disorders were next, at triple the risk of the general population, while depressed people had 2 1/2 times the risk, and those with anxiety or schizophrenia had about twice the risk, Bakalar noted.

It's been talked and talked about how our mental health system needs shoring up, if not rebuilding. But what's one of the first programs to be slashed when the budget-cutters come out?  You guessed it.

If we don't want more Sandy Hooks, it would seem we need to get our priorities in order.  And fast.
















http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/11/mental-illness-and-vulnerability/

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