With 30 crore patients, depression now No 1 reason for ill health

Apr 3: Depression is now the leading cause of ill health and disability in the world, accord ing to the World Health Organisation (WHO), following a huge spike in the number of people who report living with the condition.

The condition has overtaken lower respiratory disease as the biggest global health problem, with latest figures showing more than 30 crore people worldwide have a diagnosis of depression, an increase of more than 18% between 2006 and 2015. The organisation said it hopes the figures will lead to improved availability of effective treatment for the condition which carries a huge human cost as well as costing the world economy crores.

WHO director-general, Dr Margaret Chan, said: "These new figures are a wake-up call for all countries to re-think their approaches to mental health and to treat it with the urgency that it deserves."Dr Skekhar Saxena of the WHO said lack of understanding of the condition and prejudice towards those who suffer from it remain barriers to effective treatment.

"For someone living with depression, talking to a person they trust is often the first step towards treatment and recovery ," he said ahead of the launch of the WHO's "let's talk" campaign. According to researchers, even in high income countries, nearly 50% of people with depression do not receive treatment and drugs prescribed are often ineffective. On average, just 3% of government health budgets is invested in mental health, varying from less than 1% in lowincome countries to around 5% in high-income countries including the UK.

WHO identifies clear links between depression and other mental and physical health problems. "Depression increases the risk of substance use disorders and diseases such as diabetes and heart disease; the opposite is also true, meaning that people with these other conditions have a higher risk of depression.