Researchers from The University of Queensland and Harvard Medical School have co-led a global study, revealing that one out of every two people might experience a mental health problem in their lifetime.
This research is a result of cooperation between experts from 27 different countries, underlining the widespread impact of mental health issues.
The Study and Its Findings
The team, including Professor John McGrath from UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute and Professor Ronald Kessler from Harvard Medical School, studied data from over 150,000 adults across 29 countries.
The data, collected between 2001 and 2022, came from the World Health Organization’s World Mental Health Survey initiative, which involved the most extensive series of in-person interviews ever coordinated.
The results showed that mental health issues are pretty common, with half of the population likely to develop at least one disorder by the age of 75.
The most frequent ones were mood disorders like severe depression or anxiety.
Interestingly, they found that the risk of developing certain mental disorders varied between men and women.
The three most common disorders among women were depression, specific phobia (a serious fear that disrupts daily life), and post-traumatic stress (PTSD).
Among men, the top three disorders were alcohol abuse, depression, and specific phobia.
Age and Mental Health
The research also highlighted that mental health disorders often start in childhood, adolescence, or young adulthood.
“The most common age of first onset was at 15 years old, with the median age of onset being 19 for men and 20 for women,” Professor McGrath explained.
This information stresses the need for further investment in neuroscience to better understand why these disorders develop.
The Need for Better Mental Health Services
Professor Kessler emphasized the need for investment in mental health services, particularly for young people.
He said, “Services need to be able to detect and treat common mental disorders promptly and be tailored to suit patients in these critical parts of their lives.”
By understanding when these disorders usually start, we can better plan public health interventions and allocate resources to ensure appropriate and timely support is available for individuals at risk.
Conclusion and Future Direction
The researchers believe that their findings provide valuable insights into how often and when mental disorders typically begin across various populations.
They hope that these insights will guide the development of more effective mental health services.
Their study is now available in The Lancet Psychiatry for anyone interested in a more detailed look at their findings.
If you care about mental health, please read studies about 6 foods you can eat to improve mental health, and B vitamins could help prevent depression and anxiety.
For more information about mental health, please see recent studies about how dairy foods may influence depression risk, and results showing Omega-3 fats may help reduce depression.
The study was published in The Lancet Psychiatry.
Follow us on Twitter for more articles about this topic.
Copyright © 2023 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
