Overview
- A Global Burden of Disease analysis published in The Lancet on 21 May 2026 found almost 1.2 billion people lived with a mental disorder in 2023, nearly double the 1990 total.
- The study reports mental disorders caused 171 million disability‑adjusted life years (DALYs) in 2023 and now account for more than 17% of all years lived with disability worldwide.
- Increases were driven mainly by anxiety disorders and major depressive disorder, which rose sharply after 2019 and remain elevated through 2023.
- The burden peaks among 15–19 year‑olds and disproportionately affects women, with about 620 million women and 552 million men living with a mental disorder in 2023.
- Treatment and financing gaps are large: the analysis estimates only about 9% of people with major depressive disorder receive minimally adequate care, prompting calls for expanded services, better surveillance and sustained funding at global health fora such as the World Health Assembly.