Health 4.0: gain for well-being and for the global economy – ORH

Currently, mental and substance use disorders account for approximately 10% of the world’s disease burden, and if the associated burdens are added, the percentage rises to around 15%, according to the McKinsey Health Institute (MHI) and the Healthy Brains Global Initiative.

While the total estimate of the global disease burden is 333 million years of life lost due to disability (disability-adjusted life year -DALY-) -unit used by this analysis, commonly used in public health to quantify the burden of disease: it measures how many years of healthy life in an illustrative year are affected by the disorder, either due to early mortality or living with a lower quality of life with the disease-, due to mental disorders, depression, anxiety, substance use and sequelae of said use, among others; in Spain, this charge materializes in 2 million DALYs.

On the other hand, the associated burden of mental health conditions contributes an additional 150 million years lost worldwide.

Add years to life and life to years

Investing in the fight once morest this type of disorder would make it possible to “add years to life and life to years”, even more so because “mental disorders are very treatable and preventable”, as indicated by the MHI experts.

In fact, prioritizing and attending to mental health not only means improving the lives of those affected and flatter his years of life, but return value to the global economy -and, therefore, to society- which, according to the report «Prioritizing health: A prescription for prosperity»de Mckinsey Global Institute (MGI), would be approximately $200,000 per life year in welfare gain by 2040. And only by attending to a discount rate of 3%, regardless of country income type or age group! We would achieve healthier people, healthier organizations and enriched societies.

world situation

Of the 333 million DALYs worldwide, the direct burden of mental disorders is 182 million DALYs, the most widespread being:

1. Depressive disorders: 47M DALY (79%).
2. Ansiedad: 29M DALY (72%).
3. Alcohol use disorders: 17M DALY (65%).
4. Other drug use disorders: 16M DALY (63%).
5. Schizophrenia: 15M DALY (61 %).
6. Self-harm: 33M DALY (44%).

The associated charge stands at 151,000 DALYs:

• For mental disorders: 81,000 DALYs, highlighting:
  • Depression: 44K DALY (63%).
  • Anxiety: 26K (56%).
• For substance use 70K DALY:
  • Due to sequelae of alcohol consumption: 57K DALY (64%).
  • Due to sequelae of other drug use: 13K DALY (47%).

Spain situation

Of the estimated 2 million DALYs in Spain, the direct burden of mental disorders is 1 million DALYs, the most widespread being:

1. Depressive disorders: 470K DALY (88%).
2. Ansiedad: 222K DALY (82%).
3. Alcohol use disorders: 88K DALY (69%).
4. Schizophrenia: 98K DALY (69%).
5. Bipolar disorders: 104K DALYs (66%).
6. Other drug use disorders: 98K DALY (62%).
7. Schizophrenia: 15M DALY (61 %).
8. Self-harm: 129K (56%).

The associated charge stands at 810,000 DALYs:

• For mental disorders: 513,000 DALYs, highlighting:
  • Depression: 297K DALY (77%).
  • Ansiedad: 149K DALY (69 %).
• For substance use 297K DALY:
  • Due to sequelae of alcohol consumption: 267K DALY (69%).
  • Due to sequelae of other drug use: 30K DALY (58%).

With a modicum of awareness, society might reduce the burden by almost half by taking an integrated approach with preventive/behavioral interventions, psychotherapy, counseling and social support, specifically 42% of mental disorders (96M) and 43% of derivatives for substance use (38M).

By taking systemic action across multiple sectors, society might unlock more than 150 million years of better quality of life around the world, simply by scaling what exists today. In addition, there is a great opportunity to move forward and focus on prevention and early intervention. While this may not happen overnight, if society—individuals, businesses, organizations, policies…—makes a mindset shift to treat mental disorders with the same urgency, skill, and compassion as other medical conditions , these aspirations can become real.

Three scenarios of mental health awareness

1. Learning to prioritize mental health (minimum): All countries want to prioritize mental health and create enough supply, but they start at different levels.
2. Prioritize mental health (medium): All countries can effectively deliver interventions to patients who want them, with demand being the limiting factor.
3. Fully prioritized mental health (maximum): There is a sufficient offer of interventions and the adoption of interventions is maximum.

Picture of Sammie Chaffin in Unsplash