By Maxwell Awumah, GNA
Ho, May 23, GNA – A new study has linked mental disorders more to epidemiological and disability-based estimates rather than spiritual, religious, or broader cultural interpretations of mental wellbeing.
The findings of the study may also shape perspectives across Ghana and West Africa.
The study, led by researchers at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) in collaboration with partners at the University of Queensland and published in The Lancet, has identified that mental disorders disproportionately impacted people aged 15–19 and women.
It examined the prevalence and burden of mental disorders across both sexes, 25 age groups, 21 regions, and 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2023, making it the most comprehensive analysis of mental disorder burden to date.
The study assessed 12 mental disorders, with anxiety disorders and major depressive disorder (MDD) ranking 11th and 15th, respectively, in burden among 304 diseases and injuries worldwide.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview, Dr Alize Ferrari, Honorary Associate Professor at the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research in partnership with the University of Queensland, said these findings focus on the measurable population health burden associated with mental disorders.
The disorders are associated through epidemiological and disability-based estimates, rather than the spiritual, religious, or broader cultural interpretations of mental wellbeing that may also shape perspectives across Ghana and West Africa.
Dr Ferrari, also an Affiliate Assistant Professor at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) said “GBD 2023 identified mental disorders as a leading cause of disease burden in Ghana. “
The GBD Global Burden of Disease study is a comprehensive research programme that quantifies health loss due to diseases, injuries and risk factors worldwide.
Dr Ferrari said mental disorders contributed to 722 thousand disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) (95 per cent uncertainty interval: 516-988 thousand) in Ghana across both sexes and all ages in 2023, which represented a 234.3 per cent increase in DALY counts since 1990.
The Assistant Professor said as a group, mental disorders explained 5.1 per cent (3.9-6.7) of total all-cause DALYs in Ghana, making it the seventh leading cause of total DALYs in 2023 (up from 13th in 1990).
“Within mental disorders, anxiety disorders and major depressive disorders explained the largest proportion of DALYs, in 2023.”
He said comparing all other individual diseases and injuries, anxiety disorders and major depressive disorder were the 15th and 16th leading cause of total DALYs respectively in Ghana.
In 2023, the age standardized DALY rate for mental disorders was similar in Ghana (2240.6 DALYs per 100,000 population [1615.0-3019.7]), compared to Western sub-Saharan Africa (2297.1 DALYs per 100,000 population [1666.3-3154.6]) and globally (2070.5 DALYs per 100,000 population [1519.1-2750.5]).”
He added that in 2023, mental disorders accounted for 171 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) globally, placing these conditions as the fifth-leading cause of total disease burden.
DALYs are a measure of overall health loss, combining years lived with disability and years of life lost due to premature death.
Mental disorders accounted for more than 17 per cent of all years lived with disability worldwide, which reflects the substantial and growing impact of mental disorders across populations.
Recent increases have been driven largely by anxiety disorders and major depressive disorders.
Since 2019, the age-standardised prevalence of major depressive disorder has risen by about 24 per cent, while anxiety disorders have increased by more than 47 per cent, with both conditions peaking in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic.
It said nearly 1.2 billion people worldwide are living with mental disorder, nearly double the number recorded in 1990.
According to a new study, shared with Ghana News Agency, this stark rise has placed mental disorders as the leading cause of disability globally, surpassing cardiovascular disease, cancer, and musculoskeletal conditions.
GNA
Edited by Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Maxwell Awumah
[email protected]
