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Global Burden of Disease and the Impact of Mental and Addictive Disorders

Current Psychiatry Reports volume 21, Article number: 10 (2019) Cite this article

Abstract

Purpose of Review

This contribution reviews the newest empirical evidence regarding the burden of mental and addictive disorders and weighs their importance for global health in the first decades of the twenty-first century.

Recent Findings

Mental and addictive disorders affected more than 1 billion people globally in 2016. They caused 7% of all global burden of disease as measured in DALYs and 19% of all years lived with disability. Depression was associated with most DALYs for both sexes, with higher rates in women as all other internalizing disorders, whereas other disorders such as substance use disorders had higher rates in men.

Summary

Mental and addictive disorders affect a significant portion of the global population with high burden, in particular in high- and upper-middle-income countries. The relative share of these disorders has increased in the past decades, in part due to stigma and lack of treatment. Future research needs to better analyze the role of mental and addictive disorders in shifts of life expectancy.

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Fig. 1

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, TU Dresden, Chemnitzer Str. 46, 01187, Dresden, Germany

    Jürgen Rehm

  2. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, 33 Russell Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2S1, Canada

    Jürgen Rehm & Kevin D. Shield

  3. WHO Collaboration Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 33 Russell Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2S1, Canada

    Jürgen Rehm & Kevin D. Shield

  4. Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, 1 King’s College Circle, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1A8, Canada

    Jürgen Rehm

  5. Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 250 College Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 1R8, Canada

    Jürgen Rehm

  6. Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 3M7, Canada

    Jürgen Rehm & Kevin D. Shield

  7. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, 250 College Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 1R8, Canada

    Jürgen Rehm

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  1. Jürgen Rehm
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Rehm, J., Shield, K.D. Global Burden of Disease and the Impact of Mental and Addictive Disorders. Curr Psychiatry Rep 21, 10 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-019-0997-0

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Keywords

  • Mental disorders
  • Substance-use disorders
  • Global burden of disease
  • Excess mortality
  • Deaths of despair
  • Life expectancy