Billion people hit by mental health conditions in 2021: WHO
Suicide is a major cause of death among youths, accounting for over one in 100 deaths across globe, about 20 attempts made for each death
Billion people hit by mental health conditions in 2021: WHO
More than a billion people around the world -- around one in every seven -- were living with mental health conditions in 2021, with anxiety and depressive disorders accounting for over two-thirds of all cases, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.
The disorders exact immense human and economic tolls, the United Nations' health agency added.
Suicide is a major cause of death among youths, accounting for over one in 100 deaths across the globe and about 20 attempts made for each death, the WHO said in reports titled 'World Mental Health Today' and 'Mental Health Atlas 2024'.
Authors of the reports also said that schizophrenia and bipolar disorder -- affecting about 1 in 200 and 1 in 150 adults, respectively -- are a primary concern.
"Schizophrenia in its acute state is modelled to be the most impairing of all health conditions" and is the "costliest mental disorder per person to society," they wrote. The condition is marked by hallucinations and a disorganised way of thinking.
The findings are based on the analysis of databases 'Global Health Estimates 2021' -- managed by the WHO -- and 'Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors Study 2021', which is co-ordinated by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.
