A recent study led by Dr. Christian Kieling and his team at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre, Brazil, utilized data from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease study to investigate the prevalence of mental disorders and substance use disorders (SUDs) in individuals aged 5 to 24 years across the globe.
Globally, the research identified that out of 2,516 million individuals in this age range, a staggering 293 million experienced at least one mental disorder in 2019. Additionally, 31 million individuals grappled with a substance use disorder, resulting in mean prevalence rates of 11.63% for mental disorders and 1.22% for SUDs.
Breaking down the findings by age groups, prevalence rates for mental disorders were 6.80%, 12.40%, 13.96%, and 13.63% for ages 5–9, 10–14, 15–19, and 20–24, respectively. Notably, there were variations in the prevalence of specific disorders within each age group, and some sex-specific patterns were observed.
In terms of the burden on quality of life, the study revealed that mental disorders accounted for 31.14 million years lived with disability (YLDs), while SUDs contributed 4.30 million YLDs. These figures constituted 20.27% and 2.80% of YLDs from all causes, respectively. Alarmingly, 24.85% of all YLDs attributed to mental disorders throughout an individual’s life occurred before the age of 25.
The study emphasizes the need for targeted prevention and intervention strategies for mental health disorders during the early stages of life, given that a significant portion of the nonfatal disease burden in this age group is attributable to mental disorders. The findings underscore the importance of prioritizing mental health initiatives to address the global prevalence and impact of these conditions on young populations.
