Over 1 billion people living with mental health conditions: WHO

More than a billion people across the world are living with mental health conditions, with anxiety and depression being the most common, data released by the World Health Organization on Tuesday showed.

Mental health conditions affected persons of all ages, income levels and regions, revealed two reports released by the WHO.

The reports highlight that women are disproportionately impacted, with 581.5 million women facing mental health disorders as compared to 513.9 million men.

“Women who have experienced intimate partner violence or sexual violence are particularly vulnerable to developing a mental health condition,” said the World Mental Health Today report, which analyses the state of mental wellbeing globally.

The other report, Mental Health Atlas 2024, analyses governments’ mental health policies.

The World Mental Health Today report also noted that depression and anxiety are more common among women, while men are more likely to be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorders and conduct disorders.

The World Mental Health Today report estimates that 7.2 lakh persons had died by suicide 2021, making it a major cause of death among young people.

In 2021, suicide accounted for more than one in every hundred deaths. The report also highlighted that suicide rates are more than twice as high in men as in women.

For every death by suicide, more than 20 attempts are made,...

Read more