Recently, the Lancet Psychiatry published a groundbreaking study conducted by the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative. This study is the first of its kind to provide a comprehensive estimate of the disease burden ascribed to mental disorders across all states in India since 1990. It spotlighted that mental disorders are the primary cause of non-fatal disease burden in India, and their contribution to total disease burden is increasingly rising.
About the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative
Launched in October 2015, the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative is a public-private collaboration among various stakeholders. The collaborators include the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), and the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI). PHFI was instituted as a solution to address the limited institutional capacity present in India to bolster training, research, and policy formulation in public health.
Study Methodology
This eye-opening study classified Indian States into three categories based on their Socio-Demographic Index (SDI) – low, medium, and high SDI States. SDI measures per-capita income, average education, and fertility rates in women under 25 years and is calculated on a scale of one. The study used all available pertinent data from across India over the past three decades.
Common Mental Disorders in India
Depression and anxiety disorders have been identified as the most common mental disorders in India with their prevalence noticeably higher in the southern states such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, particularly among females. Depression constituted 33.8% of all mental disorder DALYs in India in 2017, followed by anxiety disorders (19%), idiopathic developmental intellectual disability (10.8%), and schizophrenia (9.8%). The contribution of mental disorders to the total disease burden in India measured in terms of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) rose from 2.5% in 1990 to 4.7% in 2017.
Prevalence of Mental Disorders in India
| Mental Disorder | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Depression | 33.8% |
| Anxiety Disorders | 19% |
| Idiopathic Developmental Intellectual Disability | 10.8% |
| Schizophrenia | 9.8% |
Roughly one in seven Indians, or about 197 million people, were suffering from severe mental disorders in 2017. These included depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, idiopathic developmental intellectual disability, conduct disorders, and autism. The high SDI group revealed that Tamil Nadu had the highest prevalence of depressive disorders. Anxiety disorders were more common in states like Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, and Maharashtra. The middle SDI group showed the highest prevalence of depressive disorders in Andhra Pradesh.
Need for Strengthening Mental Health Services
There is an urgent need to reinforce mental health services and integrate them with general healthcare. It is also necessary to eliminate barriers like stigma and accessibility to treatment. The high rate of depression among older adults calls for considerable attention through comprehensive efforts in the community and health system. Health officials should be equipped with accurate data on how depression, anxiety and other mental disorders are distributed across the country. Prioritizing community-level mental health care and coordinating mental health services with other healthcare aspects should be high on the agenda for state governments.
