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Mental disorders are now the leading cause of disability globally, overtaking cancer and cardiovascular disease, new research has found.
The study, conducted by The University of Queensland, University of Washington and Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research (QCMHR), found nearly 1.2 billion people worldwide were living with a mental disorder in 2023, nearly double the number in 1990.
Associate Professor Damian Santomauro, from UQ’s School of Public Health and QCMHR, said researchers examined the health burden of 12 mental disorders – including anxiety disorders, major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders, ADHD, and eating disorders – and assessed global trends between 1990 to 2023.
Dr Santomauro said researchers used the Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY) metric to analyse mental disorder burden, where one DALY equals one healthy year of life lost.
“Mental disorders have been a leading cause of DALYs globally for decades, but these findings show we are entering an even more concerning phase of worsening mental disorder burden,’’ he said.
“When compared with other disease groups, mental disorders were the fifth leading cause of DALYs in 2023, up from 12th in 1990, led mostly by increases in anxiety disorders and major depression.
“We observed increases in DALY rates in all world regions, but they were strongest in Australasia and Western sub-Saharan Africa.
“We also found the burden of mental disorder peaked amongst youth aged 15-19 years old, and women had higher rates than men.’’
Honorary Associate Professor Alize Ferrari from UQ’s School of Public Health said the findings show the response to mental disorders globally is not sufficient.
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re from a resource poor country, or a country with more health resources available, the burden is high,” Dr Ferrari said.
“We need more research, but there are many factors likely contributing to the global trends observed including data quality and availability.
“There are also risk factors for mental disorders likely at play including those related to child maltreatment, domestic violence, genetics, rising inequality, decline in social cohesiveness, impact of climate change, pandemics, war and natural disasters.
“We need a significant shift in how we respond to mental disorders globally, with better surveillance and more coordinated policy action to reduce the burden through early treatment and prevention.”
This study used data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2023, which is led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.
Read the research published in The Lancet.
