Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Aug 19, 2025; 15(8): 106887
Published online Aug 19, 2025. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i8.106887
Global burden of mental disorders in 204 countries and territories results from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021
Qing-Song Mao, Yu-Xin Guo, Xin-Ling Tian, Hai-Long Zhao, Yu-Zhe Kong
Qing-Song Mao, Hai-Long Zhao, Department of Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Surgery, Banan Hospital Affiliated of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 410132, China
Yu-Xin Guo, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 20000, Henan Province, China
Xin-Ling Tian, Yu-Zhe Kong, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China
Co-corresponding authors: Hai-Long Zhao and Yu-Zhe Kong.
Author contributions: Mao QS contributed to formal analysis and writing the original draft; Guo YX contributed to data curation; Tian XL contributed to visualization; Zhao HL and Kong YZ edited the manuscript and made equal contributions as co-corresponding authors. All authors approved the final version to publish.
Institutional review board statement: This article is based on a secondary analysis of the Global Burden of Disease database. The Global Burden of Disease database does not contain individual-level data, thus allowing for relevant exemptions.
Informed consent statement: This study was conducted by using data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. In this database, it didn’t contain individual level data. Thus, informed consent wasn’t needed.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: Corresponding authors may provide data upon request.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yu-Zhe Kong, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, No. 172 Tongzipo Road, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China. csuyuzhekong@foxmail.com
Received: March 13, 2025
Revised: April 29, 2025
Accepted: June 17, 2025
Published online: August 19, 2025
Processing time: 150 Days and 18.7 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Mental disorders have become a major contributor to the Global Burden of Disease (GBD), a situation that has worsened with the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Updated data on their impact and a clear understanding of long-term trends are essential for global and national health authorities to implement effective prevention and intervention strategies for mental well-being.

AIM

To generate insights that will enhance global awareness of the burden of mental disorders and support the development of targeted, region-specific prevention and intervention strategies tailored to current global and local health challenges.

METHODS

We extracted data on incidence, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR), and age-standardized DALY rate (ASDR) for 12 categories of mental disorders from 1990 to 2021 across 204 countries and territories grouped into 21 regions. Trends in ASIR and ASDR were also analyzed during the COVID-19 period (2019-2021).

RESULTS

From 1990 to 2021, global ASIR rose by 15.23% (12.97% to 17.60%), while ASDR increased by 73.52% (70.24% to 76.71%). All 21 GBD regions saw a rise in cases and DALYs. In 2021, Central sub-Saharan Africa had the highest ASIR (8706.11), and East Asia reported the lowest (3340.99). Australasia recorded the highest ASDR (2787.87). On the national level, Greenland, Greece, United States, and Australia had the greatest ASDR values. During the pandemic years, ASIR and ASDR rose across all five socio-demographic index levels and GBD regions, with the exception of East Asia, where rates remained stable. Females experienced a higher ASDR than males in 2021. Major depressive disorder (557.87) and anxiety disorders (524.33) were the most burdensome among the 12 types, with depressive disorders ranking first in 13 out of the 21 regions.

CONCLUSION

The GBD study 2021 results highlight a continued and worsening global burden of mental disorders, further intensified by the COVID-19 crisis. This underscores the urgent need to reinforce mental health care systems. Special attention should be directed toward high-middle socio-demographic index areas and female populations. Expanding access to mental health services, enhancing public awareness, and delivering targeted interventions are essential to lessen the growing impact of mental disorders.

Keywords: Mental disorders; Global Burden of Disease; Health inequality; Age-standardized rate; Disability-adjusted life year; Age-standardized disability-adjusted life year rate

Core Tip: Mental disorders, one of the leading causes of the global health-related burden. Global Disease Burden Study 2021 showed that the burden of mental disorders was still on the rise gradually worldwide. The burden exacerbated by the emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. The mental disorders burden of high-middle socio-demographic index regions and females should be paid more attention.