SYDNEY, May 22– Mental disorders have become the leading cause of disability globally, overtaking cancer and cardiovascular disease, according to a statement from Australia’s University of Queensland (UQ) on Friday.
The study, led by UQ, the Queensland Center for Mental Health Research, and the University of Washington in the United States, found nearly 1.2 billion people worldwide were living with mental disorders in 2023, almost double the number recorded in 1990.
“The burden of mental disorder peaked amongst youth aged 15-19 years old, and women had higher rates than men,” said Associate Professor Damian Santomauro from UQ’s School of Public Health.
The research, published in The Lancet, examined the health burden of 12 conditions, including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and eating disorders, and tracked global trends from 1990 to 2023.
Researchers used the disability-adjusted life year (DALY) metric to analyze mental disorder burden, where one DALY equals one healthy year of life lost. Mental disorders ranked as the fifth leading cause of DALYs in 2023, up from 12th in 1990, led mostly by increases in anxiety disorders and major depression, the study showed.
The researchers attributed the trend to a combination of factors, including child maltreatment, domestic violence, genetics, rising inequality, climate change, pandemics and conflict, alongside data quality and availability. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
