Half of the world's population has been diagnosed with mental disorders by age 75
By age 75, about half of the world's population may develop one or more of 13 mental disorders. They usually first appear in adolescence or young adulthood. There is a need to enable rapid identification and treatment of common mental disorders, and to optimize surveillance at these critical life stages.Researchers from the University of Queensland and Harvard Medical School assessed the lifetime risk of developing mental health disorders. The results of the study were published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal.
The analysis showed that the risk of developing any mental health disorder during life is 28.6% among men and 29.8% among women. Moreover, the likelihood of having the disorder increased with age and by age 75 was 46.4% among men and 53.1% among women.
Mental health disorders are more likely to occur during childhood and adolescence. The peak of onset of disorders occurred at age 15 years. The average age of onset of mental health disorders was 19 years for men and 20 years for women.
Alcohol use disorder and major depressive disorder were the most commonly reported disorders among males. In women, major depressive disorder, specific phobias, particularly disabling anxiety disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder were most commonly identified.
Analyzed data from 156,331 people aged 18 years and older from 29 countries, including middle- and low-income countries. They assessed the prevalence, time of onset and risk of developing 13 types of mental disorders before the age of 75.
Researchers emphasized the need for timely identification and treatment of mental disorders and optimized follow-up of such patients.