Transforming Lives, Enhancing Communities — Innovations in Global Mental Health – At least 10% of the worlds population is affected by one of a wide range of mental disorders; as many as 700 million people had a mental disorder in 2010. The 2010 Global Burden of Disease Study showed that mental disorders account for 7.4% of the worlds burden of health conditions in terms of disability-adjusted life-years and nearly a quarter of all years lived with disability — more than cardiovascular diseases or cancer. Incredibly, these numbers probably underestimate the true burden, since they do not include the effects of mental disorders on other high-priority health conditions — for example, the effect of maternal depression on infant undernutrition in low-income settings. Furthermore, the trends in the global burden of disease suggest that the proportionate burden of mental disorders will continue to grow. Link: nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1315214
Posted on: Sun, 19 Jan 2014 23:09:37 +0000