People with severe mental illness have low rates of screening for non-communicable diseases: Findings of a multi-country cross-sectional study in South Asia

People with severe mental illness (SMI) die 10-20 years earlier than the general population, largely due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension and diabetes and risk factors such as hypercholesterolaemia. This cross-sectional study gathered data from people with SMI from three national mental health institutions in South Asia. Data was collected based on the WHO Stepwise approach to NCD risk factor surveillance and the prevalence of screening, diagnosis and treatment for diabetes, hypertension, and hypercholesterolaemia was assessed. Logistic regression models assessed the associations of sociodemographic characteristics with NCD screening. Three thousand nine hundred and eighty nine participants were recruited. Screening prevalence varied by country and disease, with hypertension being the most commonly screened NCD (Bangladesh = 52.5% [50.0-55.1], India = 43.1% [40.3-45.9], Pakistan = 60.9% [58.2-63.5]), and cholesterol was the least common (Bangladesh = 4.1% [3.2-5.2], India = 14.8% [12.9-17.0], Pakistan = 9.6% [8.1-11.3]). Characteristics such as BMI, age and education level were positively associated with screening, and females were more likely to be screened than males. There are low levels of screening for NCDs among individuals with SMI accessing tertiary institutions in South Asia, with significant sociodemographic disparities. Standardised screening protocols tailored to South Asian populations could mitigate the increased risk of NCDs in this population.