Millions of people with mental illness in China, India go untreated: study
Less than 6pc of those with anxiety, depression and other mental afflictions seek help due to stigma or lack of access to resources
One-third of the global burden of mental illness – defined as healthy years lost to an illness – falls on China and India, where millions go untreated because of stigma and lack of resources, research published in the Lancet has found.
In China, less than 6 per cent of people with anxiety and depression, substance use disorders, dementia and epilepsy seek treatment while in India, only about one in 10 people is thought to receive specialist help.
A lack of trained mental health professionals, poor access to mental health services, low investment, and high levels of stigma prevent individuals in both countries from accessing treatment.
Less than 1 per cent of the national health budget in either country is allocated to mental health care. “We manage an astonishing degree of disregard in not treating a large majority of people with mental illnesses in every country on earth,” said Graham Thornicroft, professor of community psychiatry at the Centre for Global Mental Health at King’s College London.
“In my opinion, the under-treatment of people with mental illness is a major scandal and governments must recognise not just the direct impact of mental illness but also the indirect ways it harms people’s lives.”
