A global report has established that 12 billion working days are lost yearly due to depression and anxiety.
The Mental Health Atlas 2024 report revealed that the lost working days are estimated to be One Trillion USD, disclosing a worrying economic cost associated with mental disability.
“Beyond the direct costs of treatment, adults living with
mental health conditions may not be able to work, or cannot work as well as
usual, often for extended periods of time. Carers may be similarly affected,”
the report says.
The report further reveals that mental disorders expose
young people to long-term effects, including affecting their education and future
economic stability.
“Young people with mental health conditions may struggle with school. Evidence from high-income countries shows that students with mental health problems are 35 per cent more likely than their peers to repeat a grade," the report reveals.
"They are less likely to reach a high level of education and can face
substantial lifetime income losses."
In the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, workers with mental health conditions earn on average 17 per cent less than workers without mental health conditions
The report further says that job losses due to mental illness not only affect individuals and household abilities to earn a living but also contribute to wider societal costs through increased unemployment and welfare needs, lost productivity and reduced taxation revenue.
These costs to
society can be significant, often far outstripping direct health care costs.
In 2020, the report says that a systematic review of cost-of-illness studies from around the world showed that the average annual societal cost of nine groups of mental health conditions – adjusted for purchasing power – ranges between US$1180 and US$18313 per treated person, depending on the condition.
This cost includes both direct costs of treatment
and other services, as well as other costs such as foregone production and
income.
“The economic burden of mental health conditions is
estimated at between 0.5%–1.0 per cent of gross domestic product,” the report reads.
