Quantifying the global burden of mental disorders and their economic value

Background Epidemiological and economic estimates suggest that the global burden of mental disorders is consid-erable, both in its impacts on human health and losses to societal welfare. The availability of additional data and the emergence of new approaches present an opportunity to examine these estimates, which form a critical part in mak-ing the investment case for global mental health.Methods This study reviews, develops, and incorporates new estimates and methods in quantifying the global bur-den of mental illness. Using a composite estimation approach that accounts for premature mortality due to mental disorders and additional sources of morbidity and applying a value of a statistical life approach to economic valua-tion, we determine global and regional estimates of the economic cost that can be associated with mental disorders, building on data from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease study.Findings We estimate that 418 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) could be attributable to mental disor-ders in 2019 (16% of global DALYs)-a more than three-fold increase compared to conventional estimates. The eco-nomic value associated with this burden is estimated at about USD 5 trillion. At a regional level, the losses could account for between 4% of gross domestic product in Eastern sub-Saharan Africa and 8% in High-income North America.Interpretation The burden of mental illness in terms of both health and economic losses may be much higher than previously assessed.Funding None.Copyright (c) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)