The relationship between physical and mental health

Secondly, the consequences of this lack of join-up are profound. Depression is the most common long-term condition diagnosis in younger people and the research found that the presence of depression can lead to other long-term physical conditions, like morbid obesity.

Starting with what we need to better support and manage our mental health is therefore vital to improving outcomes holistically across a range of long-term conditions.

Thirdly, the study highlights the importance of tackling inequalities within a local community, and giving that community a fundamental sense of ownership and voice in how a range of services and support are delivered.

Health inequality

People from the most deprived areas develop multiple long-term conditions on average 13 years earlier than those living in the least deprived areas. Without addressing this inequality, longstanding failures to improve mental health and physical health care for people will remain intractable.

Fortunately, there are signs of hope. Recent pilots connected to the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme showed that increasing access to therapy for people with long-term conditions can have a positive impact on both mental and physical health.

The work of networks such as Black Thrive point to the potential for community-led approaches and recent announcements about additional resourcing for the NHS have included firm commitments to prioritising mental health.

This research and Impact on Urban Health’s approach has the potential to bring together how services address physical health and mental health in a way not seen before, but most importantly to improve lives for many people who have gone far too long without the support and help they need and deserve.