Overview
- The Lancet analysis of the 2023 Global Burden of Disease, published Thursday, estimated about 1.17–1.2 billion people had a mental disorder in 2023, a roughly 95.5% increase since 1990.
- Anxiety and depressive disorders drove most of the rise, with anxiety cases up about 158% and depression up about 131% since 1990, making them the most common conditions worldwide.
- The burden has shifted younger, with the highest rates now in 15- to 19-year-olds, and clear sex differences persist: women carry more anxiety and depression while men die by suicide at higher rates.
- Mental disorders are a leading cause of disability and lost healthy years, with the study and WHO data linking about 740,000 annual suicides and large numbers of disability-adjusted life years to these conditions.
- Global response falls short because mental health spending is small and unequal, with a median government allocation near 2% of health budgets and per-capita spending ranging from cents in low-income countries to tens of dollars in rich countries, prompting calls for targeted investment and expanded services.