197 Million Indians Suffer From Mental Health Disorders: ICMR

The first comprehensive estimates of disease burden due to mental health disorders and their trends in every state of India has been reported in a scientific paper released today by ICMR (Indian Council Of Medical Research). In 2017, 197 million Indians were suffering from mental disorders of whom 46 million had depression and 45 million anxiety disorders.

The contribution of mental disorders to the total disease burden has doubled between 1990 and 2017. These include depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, idiopathic developmental intellectual disability, conduct disorders, and autism.

The findings reported in the paper published today are part of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. The analytical methods of this study have been refined over two decades of scientific work, which has been reported in over 16,000 peer-reviewed publications, making it the most widely used approach globally for disease burden estimation.

Prof Balram Bhargav, Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, and Director General, ICMR said, “The findings of this research demonstrate important differences between the states—the prevalence of adult mental disorders is higher in the southern states and that of childhood onset mental disorders is higher in the northern states of India.

Key findings from the paper:

• In 2017, 197.3 million Indians (14.3% of the total population) were suffering from various mental disorders. Of these, 45.7 million had depression and 44.9 million had anxiety disorders.
• The prevalence of depression, anxiety disorders, and eating disorders was significantly higher among females, and the prevalence of conduct disorder, autism spectrum disorders, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder was significantly higher among boys.
• The contribution of mental disorders to the total disease burden in India in terms of DALYs increased from 2.5% in 1990 to 4.7% in 2017.
• There was a significant association between the prevalence of depression and suicide death rate at the state level, with this association slightly stronger in females than in males.
• Among the major mental disorders that manifest predominantly during adulthood, the prevalence of depression was 3.3%, anxiety disorders 3.3%, bipolar disorder 0.55%, and schizophrenia 0.25%.
• The prevalence of predominantly childhood and adolescent onset mental disorders was higher in the less developed northern states, and that of the mental disorders manifesting predominantly during adulthood higher in the more developed southern states.
• The prevalence of depressive disorders increased with age in India in 2017, with the highest prevalence in elderly.