About Mental Illness

The Cost of Mental Illness

Mental illness is increasingly being recognized as a major international public health problem. The World Bank, in a recent publication, identified depression as the number one cause of disability days in the U.S. and the fourth largest cause of disability days in the world. They further predicted that, within the next decade, it is likely to become the number two cause of disability days in the world. Disability increases costs and reduced efficiency. Four out of five of the leading causes of disability days in the U.S. are mental illness disorders, with depression being number one.

When one includes other chronic mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, manic-depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, substance abuse, alcoholism, the ramifications of 9/11, and underlying fear of unforeseen terrorism, the magnitude of the problem becomes extraordinary. Alcoholism, drug abuse, anxiety disorders, and other mental problems only add to the financial burden. The cost in human suffering simply cannot be calculated.

A recent innovation in quantitative electroencephalography has been the development of a very narrowband analysis. This permits the separation of signals at the level of 0.39 Hz. One is able to identify either excessive or deficient activity at this specificity of frequencies compared to norms and localize that source three dimensionally. This analysis is in process of being completed.

According to a study done by the American Psychiatric Association, the direct cost of treating and supporting the victims of mental illness is approximately $100 billion a year. Indirect costs to a society, including the cost of lost employment or decreased productivity, accidents, and social welfare programs, balloons up to an estimated $300 billion a year. This is roughly 2% of the entire country's gross domestic product which is being wasted due to a lack of adequate prvention, treatment, and rehabilitation!

It would cost far, far less to deal with this burgeoning social problem than to sweep it under the proverbial rug. Indeed, a Rand Corporation report showed that monies invested in mental health services for the work force more than pays for itself due to a substantially increased productivity.

There is no longer time or human resources to waste. Let's start the solution NOW.

Mental Health in America

The United States leads the world in diagnosable mental illness, but seriously lags in treatment. 46% of all Americans will suffer some sort of mental disorder in their lifetime, and most will not be treated until years after the disorder's onset, if ever.

According to the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (the largest and most detailed survey of mental health in the U.S.):

• Over the course of the previous year, more than one-fourth of adults reported having symptoms diagnostic of a mental disorder; and most of these disorders can be classified as serious or moderate.
  
  
• Mental illness is the most prevalent chronic condition of youth.
  
  
• 50% of Americans reported having symptoms that would qualify them for a diagnosis of a mental disorder over their lifetime, with most mental illness beginning in childhood or adolescence.
  
  
• Many of their symptoms may have emerged as early as age 11; half of all lifetime cases start by age 14 years, and three fourths start by age 24 years.
  
  
• Most people wait years, even decades, to seek treatment for their depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder.
  
  
• Fewer than one in three people get adequate treatment.

"...the NCS-R results clearly document that mental disorders are highly prevalent, that lifetime prevalence is, if anything, underestimated, that age-of-onset distribution for most of the disorders considered herein are concentrated in a relatively narrow age range during the first two decades of life, and that later onset disorders occur in large part as temporarily secondary comorbid conditions. Given the enormous personal and societal burdens of mental disorders, these observations should lead us to direct a greater part of our thinking about public health interventions to the child and adolescent years and, with appropriately balanced considerations of potential risks and benefits, to focus on early interventions aimed at preventing the progress of primary disorders and the onset of comorbid disorders."

Mental Health Abroad

One of the Center's goals is to establish international scientific collaboration with centers picked for advanced technology and clinical sophistication. As the scientific board membership shows, MIPC's scientific network is particularly strong in Europe. This is a consequence of the increasing European recognition that mental illness in their societies is becoming an epidemic similar in proportions to that of the US. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that approximately 14-18% of European children have moderate to severe mental health problems, with only 10-15% of these young people being treated by existing child mental health services. This means that two million European young people suffer from serious mental disorders, ranging from depression to schizophrenia, with most of them receiving no care or treatment. In consequence, suicide is one of the top three causes of death among young people in the European Region.

The European Union in 2005 published a detailed study concerning the size and burden of mental illnesses in Europe. They studied the prevalence and the burden for both treated and untreated mental disorders in the European member states. They conducted 10 state-of-the-art epidemiologic studies to summarize the problem.

Results indicate that over 80 million men and women of all ages in the European Union suffer from mental disorders. More than one-third of the European population is or has been affected by a mental disorder in the past year. If one considers the lifetime risk, then 50% of the European population will be affected by a mental disorder. Many mental disorders can start quite early, even in childhood and adolescence. They can have adverse effects on school performance, social functioning and even physical health. Obviously, there is an impact on the families and friends as well. The mentally ill suffer from premature mortality. Sometimes this is a function of suicide, but other times it is from the complications associated with the primary medical problem.

One way of estimating the economic burden of mental illnesses in Europe is to look at the total of disability adjusted life years lost by all medical illnesses. Over twenty-five percent of these life years are accounted for by a small number of mental disorders. In other words, three or four psychiatric disorders account for twenty-five percent of the total disability burden of all medical problems. This is a stunning figure. The cost of five groups of mental disorders, i.e., addiction, affective disorders, anxiety disorders, dementia, and psychotic disorders, was approximately 295 million Euro. Depending on the exchange rate, this is approximately $350 to $400 million per year.

MIPC Goes Global

Research Studies