Data collected from all eight states revealed that patients with SMI died primarily of the same “natural” causes which affected the non-mentally ill:  cardiac disease, cancer, stroke (cerebrovascular disease), chronic respiratory conditions, and diabetes.
	However, a major limitation of the published technical report and supporting paper (Colton and Manderscheid) was the failure of the researchers to address iatrogenic (treatment-related) causes of premature death.
	Among the most significant limitations of the published report were the authors’ and editors’ --
	Ø failure to discuss the role of dementia in death rates of those with SMI
	Ø failure to discuss the role of pharmaceuticals as a cause of dementia
	Ø failure to discuss the role of pharmaceuticals as a cause of suicide
	Interestingly, cancer-related deaths were less common among people with SMI.  One of the reasons for this finding may relate to the heavy use of pharmaceuticals by recipients of publicly funded healthcare.  With few exceptions, the various families of psychiatric drugs have been found to possess cancer-fighting properties.  Unfortunately, these same biological effects more than likely contribute to the teratogenicity (miscarriages and birth-defects) and multiple systemic toxicities of the same chemicals.