World Mental Health Day 2023: The global burden of mental health disorders

Pre-pandemic, in 2019, an estimated 970 million people in the world were living with a mental disorder and 71 per cent people with psychosis don't receive mental health services. (Photo: Adrian Swancar via Unsplash)

World Mental Health (October 10) is an opportunity for people and communities to unite behind WHO’s 2023 theme ‘Mental health is a universal human right’. Sadly, the world’s burden of mental health is huge: 1 in every 8 people in the world live with a mental disorder but on an average, countries spend only 2 per cent of health budgets on treatment and prevention of mental health conditions.

Pre-pandemic, in 2019, an estimated 970 million people in the world were living with a mental disorder. Worldwide, 1 in 8 individual lives with a mental health condition, 71 per cent people with psychosis do not receive mental health services and on an average, countries spend only 2 per cent of health budgets on treatment and prevention of mental health conditions.

Of the 970 million people living with mental disorders, females constitute 52.4 per cent of the staggering number. Overall, the global prevalence of mental disorders is (Source: Institute for Health Metrics & Evaluation):

31% anxiety disorders
28.9% depressive disorders
11.1% developmental disorder
8.8% attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder
4.1% bipolar disorder
4.1% conduct disorders
2.9% autism spectrum disorders
2.5% schizophrenia
1.4% eating disorders

Depressive and anxiety disorders are about 50 per cent more common among women than men throughout the life-course, while men are more likely to have a substance use disorder. Worldwide, more than 10 per cent of pregnant women and women who have just given birth experience depression. Around 8 per cent of the world’s young children (aged 5–9 years) and 14 per cent of the world’s adolescents (aged 10–19 years) live with a mental disorder, according to World Health Statistics 2022 published by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Mental health at work

Almost 60 per cent of the world population is in work. Poor working environments — including discrimination and inequality, excessive workloads, low job control and job insecurity — pose a risk to mental health.

Around 15 per cent of working-age adults were estimated to have a mental disorder in 2019.

Globally, an estimated 12 billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety at a cost of US$ 1 trillion per year in lost productivity.

Mental health of adolescents

Mental health conditions account for 16% of the global burden of disease and injury in people aged 10–19 years. Half of all mental health disorders in adulthood start by age 14, but most cases are undetected and untreated.

Globally, one in seven 10-19-year-olds experiences a mental disorder, accounting for 13% of the global burden of disease in this age group.

Depression, anxiety and behavioural disorders are among the leading causes of illness and disability among adolescents and suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among 15-29 year-olds.

It is estimated that 3.6 per cent of 10-14 year-olds and 4.6 per cent of 15-19 year-olds experience an anxiety disorder. Depression is estimated to occur among 1.1 per cent of adolescents aged 10-14 years, and 2.8 per cent of 15-19-year-olds.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) occurs among 3.1 per cent of 10-14 year-olds and 2.4 per cent of 15-19 year-olds. Conduct disorder (involving symptoms of destructive or challenging behaviour) occurs among 3.6 per cent of 10-14 year-olds and 2.4 per cent of 15-19 year-olds.

Mental health of older adults

Globally, the population is ageing rapidly. Between 2015 and 2050, the proportion of the world’s population over 60 years will nearly double, from 12 per cent to 22 per cent.

Mental and neurological disorders among older adults account for 6.6 per cent of the total disability (DALYs) for this age group. Approximately 15 per cent of adults aged 60 and over suffer from a mental disorder.

It is estimated that 50 million people worldwide are living with dementia with nearly 60 per cent living in low- and middle-income countries. The total number of people with dementia is projected to increase to 82 million in 2030 and 152 million in 2050.

Schizophrenia affects approximately 24 million people or 1 in 300 people (0.32 per cent) worldwide. This rate is 1 in 222 people (0.45 per cent) among adults.

Mental health in emergencies

The burden of mental disorders among conflict-affected populations is extremely high: WHO’s review of 129 studies in 39 countries showed that among people who have experienced war or other conflict in the previous 10 years, one in five people (22 per cent) will have depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.

It is estimated that one in 11 people (9 per cent) living in a setting that has been exposed to conflict in the previous 10 years will have a moderate or severe mental disorder.

The estimated point prevalence for severe disorders (i.e. schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, severe depression, severe anxiety, and severe post-traumatic stress disorder) is 5 per cent.

Suicide: Globally, the suicide rate has dropped by 36 per cent since 2000, with decreases ranging from 17 per cent in WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region to 47 per cent in WHO’s European Region and 49 per cent in WHO’s Western Pacific Region. Yet, in WHO’s Region of the Americas, suicide rates have increased 17 per cent over the past 20 years.

Still, every year 703,000 people take their own life and globally, there may be 20 suicide attempts to every one deaths. More than half (58 per cent) of suicides happen before the age of 50 years. And suicide rates in people aged over 70 years are more than twice those of working age people.

(Data source: World Health Organization)