The Lancet produced a series called ‘China-India Mental Health Alliance’ led by Vikram Patel, Ph.D., a professor and principal research fellow at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the U.K., and Michael R. Phillips, the director of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and professor at Emory University. In May 2016, three papers were published as part of the China-India Mental Health Alliance, which aimed to bring together Chinese and Indian experts to take a closer look at their country’s mental health status and how treatment services are delivered to individuals who have mental illness.
The China-India Mental Health Alliance series highlights the growing problems of mental illness and substance use disorders among people living in China and India, both of which are large and highly populated countries with few resources and treatments available for people with mental health and substance use disorders. These are also countries where people often shy away from seeking and receiving the treatment they need due to the level of stigma associated with psychiatric disorders.
The burden of mental, neurological, and substance use disorders in China and India
Fiona J. Charlson, Ph.D., from the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research at the University of Queensland’s School of Population Health in Australia, and her colleagues, examined the estimates of the burden of mental, neurological and substance use disorders for China and India using data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013.
The researchers found that mental, neurological and substance use disorders in China and India accounted for 38 percent of the world’s population, representing one-third of all disability adjusted life years (DALYs) lost worldwide (about 66 million DALYs), and 32 percent of the total global disease burden. Charlson and colleagues projected that the years lost due to disability are going to increase by about 80 percent in India and more than 50 percent in China by 2025, which means that it is clear that something needs to be done with regard to the treatment and care provided to individuals living in both of these countries.
An estimated 173 million adults in China have mental disorders, 4.3 million of which have severe mental illness. In China, mental and behavioral disorders account for 9.5 percent of all DALYs and 23.6 percent of all years lived with disability (YLD). However, India’s global burden was much higher, accounting for a greater proportion of the increase in the burden of mental, neurological and substance use disorders from 1990 to 2013. The researchers suggested that the large population growth and similarities with other developing countries could help to explain why the burden was so high in India.
The researchers estimated that the burden will increase by 10 percent in China and by 23 percent in India by 2025. Increasing coverage for mental health treatment may be helpful to decrease the amount of people affected by these disorders as well as reduce the burden and disability associated with these issues. In addition, expanding treatment coverage to individuals living in China and India can help reduce the severity of psychiatric symptoms and premature death.
Mental health treatment gap in adults in India and China
Vikram Patel, Ph.D., professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and his colleagues investigated the magnitude of the treatment gap and the potential ways health care providers can overcome the barriers that are currently preventing people in China and India from receiving treatment. They conducted a systematic review of papers published between 2005 and 2014. One of the most significant indicators of the need for behavioral health treatment in both China and India were the number of admissions to mental hospitals per 100,000 people and the general lack of mental hospitals, psychiatric beds in general hospitals and the number of mental hospital beds.
Not only does the stigma and fear of discrimination prevent individuals in China and India from seeking and receiving needed treatment services, they also need their countries to increase access to treatment services and mental health care providers. Sovereign Health is a leading provider of behavioral health treatment services for people with mental illnesses, substance use disorders and co-occurring disorders. For more information about Sovereign Health’s treatment programs, please contact our 24/7 helpline.
About the author
Amanda Habermann is a staff writer for Sovereign Health. A graduate of California Lutheran University, she received her M.S. in clinical psychology with an emphasis in psychiatric rehabilitation. Her master’s thesis was written on “The effect of parental codependency on elementary school children’s social and emotional development,” and her research has been accepted for poster presentations at the Western Psychological Association. She brings to the team her extensive clinical background and skills in psychological testing and assessment, clinical diagnostic criteria, research and treatment and recovery techniques for patients with mental illness. She is a passionate researcher and enjoys staying up to date on the newest topics in the field. For more information and other inquiries about this article, contact the author at news@sovhealth.com.
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