They say the more the public understands about the science of specific mental health problems, the more they will accept those affected. Although experts say as many as one in four people are affected by mental illness, many face discrimination, isolation and even attacks from members of the public. They say the media spotlight on community care killings has contributed to general fear of the mentally ill.
Research shows that they have the highest unemployment rates of any disabled group.
Alzheimer's disease Writing in the British Medical Journal, Peter McGuffin, from the Institute of Psychiatry, and Neilson Martin, from the University of Wales College of Medicine, say they believe medical advances will help to put better treatments on the market and will make discrimination a thing of the past. They cite the example of Alzheimer's disease where they say medical advances have led to greater public acceptance of the disorder. Although they acknowledge that mental illness is not only affected by genetics but also by environmental factors, they say scientific advances such as DNA testing may be able to help predict how a person will respond to a particular treatment. For example, it may show whether they are likely to develop certain side effects. They say research on identical twins and people who have been adopted will help enable scientists to work out which traits are due to shared genes and which are due to shared environment or a combination of both.