clipped from: www.independent.co.uk   

Daniel Galvin died of a heart attack in August. He was six stone overweight and had high blood pressure; his hair was falling out and he was incapacitated by trembling legs. He was 29.

Daniel's family believe his symptoms, and his untimely death, were caused by side effects from the powerful psychiatric drugs he had been taking for 14 years. He is, they think, one of thousands of people with mental health problems who have died prematurely because their physical health was neglected.


People with mental health problems and learning disabilities die on average 10 years younger than the rest of the population, according to the Disability Rights Commission. Obesity, diabetes, certain cancers and heart disease are far more common among people taking psychiatric drugs

"When my big brother died at the age of 29, he was a fragment of the person I used to know. He was obese, had no energy; his legs were constantly restless and cigarettes had become his life.