1 in 8 People Suffer From Mental Disorder, Says Largest WHO Mental Health Report

The WHO's global mental health review provides some guidance for governments and mental health professionals.

WHO released its global mental health review in June 2022.

(Photo: iStock)

The World Health Organization released its largest ever review of mental health across the world, making it the first mental health review of this scope and scale in the 21st century.

The 296-page report collates information and data from thousands of sources across continents to present an unsurprising but grim review of the mental health situation on Earth right now.

The review provides an outline on the state of mental health for governments, academics, health professionals, and other interested parties.

We've covered the highlights of the report in brief here, and we will dive deep into the fine details to bring you more in the coming days.

For now, here are the highlights and most important points:

Global Mental Health Review: Highlights & Key Takeaways

• 1 in 8 people globally lives with a mental disorder.

• People with mental health disorders died, on average, 10 to 20 years before others.

• In 2019, nearly a billion people were living with at least one mental disorder.

• Anxiety and depression are the most commonly reported mental disorders.

• 14 percent of the world's adolescents live with mental disorders. The unrecorded/unreported number is likely much higher.

Global Mental Health Review: Suicide and Cost of Mental Health Disorders

• Suicides account for one in every 100 deaths around the world, with a large number of suicides reported in young people.

• Nearly 60 percent of all suicides happened before the age of 50.

• As many as 20 countries still criminalize suicide and attempts to commit suicide.

• Mental disorders are the leading cause of years-lived-with-disability as well, with one in every six years of life being lost to mental disorders, according to the review.

• While depression and anxiety were the most commonly reported mental disorders, schizophrenia was classified as the costliest and also most destructive - both economically and mentally.

• Schizophrenics suffered the worst brunt of mental disorders, but anxiety and depression are far more common, contributing more to national healthcare costs.

COVID-19 and Mental Health

• Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, just a small fraction of people in need had access to effective, affordable and quality mental health care.

• However, in the first year after the pandemic began, the world reported a 25 percent rise in anxiety and depression.

• Globally, the report states that countries need to do more for mental health disorders.

• The review states that 71 percent of people suffering from psychosis across the world don't get the mental health care they need. While 70 percent of people with psychosis in high-income countries reportedly received care, only 12 percent received similar or any care in low-income countries.

Read the WHO's full global mental health review here.