James Donaldson on Mental Health - The numbers behind global mental health and its different disorders

Mental health prevalence globally Mental health disorders are widespread and on the rise globally.

According to the WHO, one in eight people lives with a mental health condition, with anxiety and depressive disorders being the most common types.

Mental health disorders tend to affect people across income groups.

However, treatment in low- and middle-income countries is scarcer.

Spending on mental health ranges from $0.04 per capita in low-income countries to $0.34 per capita in lower-middle income countries and $65.89 in high-income countries, according to the WHO Mental Health Atlas 2024, which collected data from 75 countries.

The prevalence of mental health disorders across WHO regions in 2019 was: Americas: 15.6 percent of the population Eastern Mediterranean: 14.7 percent Europe: 14.2 percent Southeast Asia: 13.2 percent Western Pacific: 11.7 percent Africa: 10.9 percent During the COVID-19 pandemic, the incidence of mental health disorders rose globally, with anxiety and depression surging in particular.

According to the latest Global Burden of Disease report from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), the disease burden caused by mental illnesses, which uses a measure called DALYs (Disability-Adjusted Life Years), is as follows: Depressive disorders 694.6 per 100,000 Anxiety disorders 686.5 per 100,000 Schizophrenia 210.2 per 100,000 Bipolar disorder 94.6 per 100,000 Eating disorders 47.5 per 100,000 Mental health disorders are the leading global contributors to disability, accounting for roughly one in every six years lived with disability (YLDs) worldwide – the second biggest cause of long-term disability, according to the WHO.

One death by suicide every 43 seconds According to an analysis published in the medical journal The Lancet , about 740,000 suicides are reported annually – one death every 43 seconds, on average.

Suicide is the 17th leading cause of death across all age ranges, but it rises sharply among young people.

It is the third leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 29 globally, and the second leading cause of death among 15-to-29-year-old women.