Approximately 1.2 billion people around the world live with a mental disorder. CNN

“There are a lot of factors at play here, and it’s difficult to separate them all out,” added Santo Mauro, an associate professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Queensland in Australia. “Addressing these risk factors requires collective global leadership.”

Other psychiatric disorders measured were bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anorexia, bulimia, dysthymia, conduct disorder, and developmental intellectual disability of unknown cause. Dysthymia is a long-term mild form of depression, also known as persistent depressive disorder. Conduct disorder affects children and teens and involves a consistent pattern of disobedient and aggressive behavior.

Researchers found increases across all 12 disorders compared to 1990, including a 158% increase in anxiety and a 131% increase in depression. The least common disorders were anorexia, bulimia, and schizophrenia, but these disorders are not uncommon, with approximately 4 million, 14 million, and 26 million cases respectively in 2023. Most mental disorders were more common in women, but autism, conduct disorder, ADHD, and personality disorders And unexplained intellectual disability was actually more common in men.

The study will also help shed further light on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the incidence of certain mental health conditions. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of anxiety, depression, and other disorders were already on the rise. However, depression has increased during and since the crisis and has not returned to pre-pandemic rates. According to the researchers, anxiety reached a peak and remained there until 2023.

The study “addresses issues like underreporting, which is a common problem in mental illness, but we don’t really know how accurate this is,” Paul Bolton, a senior research fellow in the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, said in an email.

But this estimate is “the best we know” and “close to the real world numbers that are probably available to us,” added Bolton, who was not involved in the study.

This study analyzed data from the 2023 Global Disease, Injury and Risk Factor Survey (GBD). The GBD study, led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, is the largest and most comprehensive effort to measure health across place and time. The research began in the early 1990s, involves thousands of researchers around the world, and has been primarily funded by the Gates Foundation since 2007.

Mental disorders are increasingly becoming a leading cause of disability, with women and people aged 15 to 39 being most affected. Although women typically bear a greater burden, this is the first time in the history of GBD research that there has been a peak in the 15- to 19-year-old age group, Santomauro said. “Historically we’ve always seen this peak in middle age,” he added.

Dr. Robert Trestman, chair of psychiatry and behavioral medicine at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, said young age is a vulnerable and critical time for the development of the brain and social and intellectual skills. Trestman, who was not involved in the study, added that halting development could have long-term effects.

According to experts, many positive and negative factors are contributing to the rise in interest rates. “The stigma around mental illness has been greatly reduced. People are much more comfortable coming forward rather than suffering in silence,” Trestman said. Mr. Trestman also chairs the American Psychiatric Association’s Council on Health Care Systems and Financing.

Dr. Arthur Evans, CEO of the American Psychological Association, said in an email that the detection and diagnosis of mental health conditions has improved over time. He was not involved in the study. Santo Mauro said population growth and longer lifespans are also contributing.

At the same time, “when you step back and look at the conditions in which people are living, it’s sadly not surprising,” Trestman said of the increase. Experts say many factors can cause or worsen mental health conditions, including genetics, economic instability, trauma, inadequate or unaffordable health care, political conflict and instability, war, food insecurity, intimate partner violence, body image issues, discrimination, poor social connections, and environmental threats.

Young people are experiencing these stressors, and the pandemic is uniquely impacting this group, but “unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of data on what’s causing the increase among young people,” Santo Mauro said.

Seek help and improve access

Experts say mental health experiences and access to care vary widely, and much of the burden of improvement lies with policymakers and other health authorities.

“Relatedly, this increase in burden has not been accompanied by a proportionate expansion of mental health services,” the authors write. “Serving the mental health needs of people around the world, especially the most vulnerable, is a duty, not a choice.”

But Santo Mauro and other experts offer some advice that may help those who are suffering, including talking to a professional about various treatments, medications, and other support.

If possible, experts say it’s also important to improve lifestyle factors such as diet, social connections, exercise, sleep, hobbies, and work-life balance.