from Kathryn Wyeth
The 10 by 10 Campaign Update
Volume 4
August/September 2008
Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Greetings! This is the fourth update on the 10 by 10 Campaign to promote wellness for people with mental illnesses and reduce early mortality by 10 years over the next 10 year time period. Please forward to anyone who might be interested.
In this issue:
New Grant Aims to Overcome Obesity in People with Serious Mental Illness
Working Toward Wellness
CDC National Health Interview Survey
National Center on Physical Activity and Disability
SAMHSA Smoke-Free Conference Policy
Quote on Wellness
Disease Prevention Called a Better Bet
Consumer Affairs Enews
Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Report – Now Available!
A National Call to Action for Wellness of People with Mental Illnesses
The early mortality rates of people with serious mental illness – up to 25 years life lost – have recently received much-needed attention. This disparity in life expectancy is unacceptable. People with serious mental illnesses deserve to live as long and healthy lives as other Americans.
As the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) Medical Director’s Council recently reported the “increased morbidity and mortality are largely due to treatable medical conditions that are caused by modifiable risk factors such as smoking, obesity, substance abuse, and inadequate access to medical care.”
The Pledge for Wellness
We envision a future in which people with mental illness pursue optimal health, happiness, recovery, and a full and satisfying life in the community via access to a range of effective services, supports, and resources.
We pledge to promote wellness for people with mental illness by taking action to prevent and reduce early mortality by 10 years over the next 10 year time period. Over 50 organizations have signed onto the pledge. Sing up now by email: paolo.delvecchio@samhsa.hhs.gov
New Grant Aims to Overcome Obesity in People with Serious Mental Illness
A new grant funded by NIMH will test the effectiveness of a promising intervention designed to help people with serious mental illness (SMI) who are overweight or obese lose weight and keep it off.
Obesity is common among people with SMI and contributes to a higher risk for cardiovascular disease and a shortened life expectancy. Yet, typical weight loss programs are frequently less effective for people with SMI. Gail Daumit, M.D., M.H.S., of Johns Hopkins University, and colleagues designed a comprehensive behavioral weight loss program tailored to the specific needs of people with SMI.
The program will be tested in a randomized clinical trial—named the ACHIEVE trial—with 320 participants in up to ten psychiatric rehabilitation centers around Maryland. Participants will be randomized to either the intervention or to a comparison group who will receive “usual care” that does not include the tailored components.
Participants in the intervention group will receive six months of intensive group and individual weight loss management and counseling sessions that complement their mental health treatments, plus exercise classes. During a 12-month follow-up maintenance period, the intensity and frequency of sessions will gradually taper off. The researchers will measure the participants’ change in weight and other health-related factors over the 18-month period. If successful, the intervention could become the basis for a model program to help people with SMI conquer obesity.
For more information go to:
Working Toward Wellness
The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance’s booklet can help you look at your life style choices, track your progress, recognize the patterns relating to your mental health. Through examples it guides you in areas like symptoms, mood triggers, peer support, healthy lifestyle, talking to health care providers and others about your illness, crisis planning, and helping you to put together a wellness plan that fits you.
CDC National Health Interview Survey
The issue of health and well-being of people with disabilities is receiving recognition as a national and international priority, as several recent initiatives indicate. The accomplishment of these initiatives requires high quality data to uncover disparities, plan programs, and monitor and evaluate progress.
3% of the population reported emotional difficulties. Approximately one-half of adults with emotional difficulties were under 45 years of age. Of those who were aged 65 years or over with any basic actions difficulty, only 13% reported emotional difficulties.
Women were also overrepresented in the population with emotional difficulty (64%), and emotional difficulty is not as likely to be associated with increasing age as other disabilities.
Approximately 52% of those with emotional difficulty reported fair or poor health which is of interest because those with emotional difficulty are more likely to be 18–44 years of age, and this age group generally reports better health.
About one-third of adults with emotional difficulty were obese, compared with less than 20% of adults with no disability.
People with emotional difficulties were by far the most likely to smoke (43%) compared with those who had other types of difficulties.
Among adults with specific types of disability, current heavy drinking rates were highest for adults with the least severe difficulty in movement (10%) and with emotional difficulty (8%), Rates of reporting of 5 or more drinks on 21 or more days in the past year were highest among people with emotional difficulty (18%).
Adults with emotional difficulty, who tend to be younger than those with other types of difficulties, are more likely to lack a usual source of healthcare (18%) People with emotional difficulty were more likely than those with other types of disability to report aclinic or health center as their source of care (24%) – in contrast to private doctors and other settings.
People with emotional difficulties most often reported being uninsured (28%).
Among men and women 50 years of age and over with various types of basic actions difficulties, those with emotional difficultywere less likely to receive influenza vaccination than those with movement difficulty, seeing or hearing difficulty, or cognitive difficulty.
National Center on Physical Activity and Disability
The mission of the National Center on Physical Activity and Disability (NCPAD), supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is to promote substantial health benefits that can be gained from participating in regular physical activity. The slogan of NCPAD is Exercise is for EVERY body, and every person can gain some health benefit from being more physically active. NCPAD is an information center concerned with physical activity and disability.
SAMHSA Smoke-Free Conference Policy
Effective August 15, 2008, SAMHSA has adopted a smoke-free conference policy.
Policy Summary
SAMHSA’s smoke-free Conference Policy requires that all meetings and conferences (20 or more participants) sponsored by SAMHSA or organized by a SAMHSA employee(s) be held in a town, city, county, or state that is smoke-free—this includes SAMHSA conferences done through a contract.
SAMHSA encourages adherence to Smoke-Free Conference Policy for conferences for which SAMHSA is a co-sponsor.
An approved conference facility is in a locality that is covered by a state or local law that requires smoke-free enclosed workplaces and public places including restaurants and meeting facilities.
Quote on Wellness
Physical activity is vital to promote and maintain health, but it's easy for many of us to overlook. The Physical Activity Guidelines (see last page) will underscore the importance of physical activity to America's health and assist on the journey to a healthier life. Good health—wellness—doesn’t just happen. Wellness has to be a habit."
Secretary Michael O. Leavitt
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Disease Prevention Called a Better Bet
Wellness Programs Yield Greater Returns, Report Finds
By Megan Greenwell, Washington Post
An ounce of prevention in community health programs could save states hundreds of millions in health-care costs, a new study has found. The report from the Trust for America's Health, a nonprofit health advocacy group, found that programs encouraging physical activity, healthy eating and no smoking were a better investment than those concentrating primarily on treatment.
The results are laid out in a state-by-state breakdown. The District, the researchers found, would save $9.90 for every dollar invested, or $57 million over five years. Maryland would save $6 for every dollar, for $332 million over five years, and Virginia would save $385 million -- $5.20 for every dollar spent.
The researchers arrived at their numbers by calculating potential decreases in several chronic diseases based on a $10 investment per person. They found that community health programs could reduce rates of diabetes and high blood pressure by 5 percent within two years and reduce the incidence of some forms of cancer and arthritis within 10 to 20 years.
The report, called Prevention for a Healthier America, emphasizes a major role for nonprofit community health programs such as the YMCA. It also advocates that state and local governments help create healthier communities. Researchers endorsed such initiatives as increased tobacco taxes, smoke-free laws, nutrition labeling on restaurant menus and maintaining sidewalks as low-cost ways to encourage healthy living.
The researchers commended several innovative community health initiatives, including a children's program in Dallas that has led to healthier eating and increased physical activity among youngsters and the District's new Child Health Action Plan, which targets some of the city's worst health problems affecting youth. However, the researchers found that many such programs lack funding, a chronic problem for many preventive health initiatives.
Consumer Affairs Enews
The CMHS Office of the Associate Director for Consumer Affairs has established a Listserv to support the participation of mental health consumers in all aspects of CMHS policy, planning, and grant activities. The E-News provides useful news and information from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration including CMHS as well as other Federal agencies. This includes information on trainings, grants, publications, campaigns, programs, and statistics and data reports related to mental health.
Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Report – Now Available!
On October 26, 2006, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt announced the development of comprehensive guidelines to help Americans fit physical activity into their lives. The Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Report, 2008 is now available and presents and summarizes the Advisory Committee's review of science relating physical activity to a variety of health outcomes, also addressing particular subgroups of the population such as children and youth, pregnant and postpartum women, persons with disabilities, and individuals with some chronic conditions.
You can access the Report (and provide comment) by going to
For more information on CMHS Wellness Efforts, please contact:
Paolo del Vecchio
Associate Director for Consumer Affairs
CMHS, SAMHSA
1 Choke Cherry Rd. Rockville, MD 20857
Phone: (240) 276-1946
Fax: (240) 276-1340
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Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website:
http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog:
http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery:
http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/
Change:
http://prosynergypsc.blogspot.com/
