A STUDY has revealed a link between long-term physical illness in children and mental health problems in later life.

Experts at the University of Sussex and University College London found evidence that chronic childhood illness increases the risk of depression and anxiety in adulthood.

Researchers reviewed evidence from a large number of medical studies, looking for links between conditions such as arthritis, asthma and cancer and emotional problems in later life.

Experts said the results suggested mental health prevention strategies targeting young patients could be vital to help prevent serious long-term conditions.

University of Sussex psychologist Darya Gaysina said cancer in particular was found to be significantly linked to adult depression.

She said: “Very little is known about life-long effects of childhood chronic physical illness on mental health.

“Our results show illness was significantly associated with adult depression in the total sample of more than 45,000 participants we studied.

“Although the research on other chronic conditions is very limited, when we removed cancer from the sample, the link was still there.

“It seems that if there is a higher risk of mental health issues in adulthood for those with childhood-onset chronic physical illnesses, further in-depth research in this area could help change the way practitioners work with youth with chronic conditions, ensuring that there is as much a focus on the patient’s mental health as their physical health.”

Annabel Price, from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said it was important not to treat physical and mental health as two separate entities.

She said: “For some, the most devastating aspect of an illness is the psychological impact that accompanies it, often staying with them far into the future.”