Mental disorders now No.1 cause of disability worldwide, says The Lancet

By Admin

Mental illness has officially become the world's leading cause of disability, surpassing cardiovascular disease, cancer, and musculoskeletal conditions. 

 According to the Global Burden of Disease 2023 study, more than 1.17 billion people—roughly one in seven people on Earth—were living with a mental health condition in 2023. Since 1990, the global burden of these disorders has surged by over 95.5 percent.

Anxiety and major depression are leading the quiet epidemic, which erodes quality of life over years and decades rather than claiming lives immediately.

The study, led by researchers at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) in collaboration with partners at the University of Queensland and published in The Lancet, identified that mental disorders disproportionately impact people aged 15–19 and women. 

It examined the prevalence and burden of mental disorders across both sexes, 25 age groups, 21 regions, and 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2023, making it the most comprehensive analysis of mental disorder burden to date.

The study assessed 12 mental disorders, with anxiety disorders and major depressive disorder (MDD) ranking 11th and 15th, respectively, in burden among 304 diseases and injuries worldwide. 

Mental disorders burden increased in every region of the world between 1990 and 2023.

In 2023, mental disorders accounted for 171 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) globally, placing these conditions as the fifth-leading cause of total disease burden.

 DALYs are a measure of overall health loss, combining years lived with disability and years of life lost due to premature death.

 Mental disorders accounted for more than 17 percent of all years lived with disability worldwide. This reflects the substantial and growing impact of mental disorders across populations. 

Recent increases have been driven largely by anxiety disorders and major depressive disorder. 

Since 2019, the age-standardized prevalence of major depressive disorder has risen by about 24  percent, while anxiety disorders have increased by more than 47 percent, both conditions peaking in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The rise in mental disorders is a global phenomenon fueled by social isolation, economic insecurity, pandemic aftereffects, and modern stressors. 

As health systems struggle to expand services proportionally, researchers warn that society can no longer ignore the immense toll of these non-fatal but deeply debilitating conditions.