Scientists analyzed data from more than 150,000 adults in 29 countries between 2001 and 2022 and the results demonstrated the high prevalence of mental health disorders, with 50 percent of the population developing at least one disorder by the age of 75.
Age of onset and cumulative risk of mental disorders: a cross-national analysis of population surveys from 29 countries.
Summary:
Background
Information on the frequency and timing of mental disorders across the lifespan is of fundamental importance for public health planning. Broad, cross-national estimates of this information from coordinated general population surveys were last updated in 2007. Our goal was to provide updated and improved estimates of the distributions of age at onset, lifetime prevalence, and morbid risk.
Methods
In this cross-national analysis, we analyzed data from respondents aged 18 years and older in the Global Mental Health Surveys, a coordinated series of cross-sectional, in-person community epidemiological surveys administered between 2001 and 2022. In the surveys,
The WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview, a fully structured psychiatric diagnostic interview, was used to assess age of onset, lifetime prevalence, and morbid risk of 13 DSM-IV mental disorders up to age 75 in surveys by sex.
We do not evaluate ethnicity. Surveys were grouped geographically and weighted to adjust for probability of selection,
Results
We included 156,331 respondents from 32 surveys in 29 countries , including 12 low- and middle-income countries and 17 high-income countries, and included 85,308 (54.5%) female respondents and 71,023 (45.4%) male respondents.
The lifetime prevalence of any mental disorder was 28.6% (95% CI: 27.9–29.2) for male respondents and 29.8% (29.2–30.3 ) for the women surveyed.
The morbid risk of any mental disorder at age 75 was 46.4% (44.9–47.8) for male respondents and 53.1% (51.9–54.3) for female respondents. surveyed.
Conditional probabilities of first onset peaked at approximately age 15, with a median age of onset of 19 years (IQR 14-32) for male respondents and 20 years (12-36) for female respondents.
Interpretation By the age of 75, approximately half of the population can expect to develop one or more of the 13 mental disorders considered in this article. These disorders usually first appear in childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood. Services must be able to detect and treat common mental disorders promptly and optimize care to suit people at these crucial stages of the life course. |
Comments
A global study co-led by researchers at the University of Queensland and Harvard Medical School found that one in two people will develop a mental health disorder in their lifetime.
Professor John McGrath of UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute, Professor Ronald Kessler of Harvard Medical School and colleagues from 29 other countries analyzed data from more than 150,000 adults in 29 countries between 2001 and 2022, taken from the series More largest ever coordinated face-to-face interview: the World Health Organization’s Global Mental Health Survey initiative.
Lead author Professor McGrath said the results demonstrate the high prevalence of mental health disorders, with 50 per cent of the population developing at least one disorder by the age of 75.
"The most common were mood disorders, such as major depression or anxiety," Professor McGrath said. "We also found that the risk of certain mental disorders differed by sex."
The 3 most common mental health disorders among women :
- Depression
- Specific phobia (a disabling anxiety that interferes with daily life)
- Post-traumatic stress (PTSD)
The 3 most common mental health disorders among men :
- Alcohol abuse
- Depression
- Specific phobia
Research also found that mental health disorders typically first emerge in childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood.
"The maximum age of first onset was 15 years , with a median age of onset of 19 for men and 20 for women," Professor McGrath said. "This gives weight to the need to invest in basic neuroscience to understand why these disorders develop." Professor Kessler said investment was also needed in mental health services with a particular focus on young people.
"Services must be able to detect and treat common mental disorders promptly and be optimized to suit patients in these critical parts of their lives," Professor Kessler said.
"By understanding the age at which these disorders commonly emerge, we can tailor public health interventions and allocate resources to ensure that appropriate and timely support is available for people at risk."
The researchers said the results provide valuable information about the frequency and timing of mental disorder onset in many different populations.
The study is published in The Lancet Psychiatry .
