Mental Illness Comprises 14% of Global Disease Burden

According to The Lancet "Series on Global Mentaldiseases that complicate treatment and can lead to
Health", neuropsychiatric disorders make up 14% ofpoor outcomes, including a higher risk of death. More
the global disease burden. Because mental illness is soresearch needs to be done to better understand the
debilitating, it contributes more to the global burdenlink between mental and physical health and the
than heart disease, stroke, or cancer.potential for mental health intervention to improve
Neuropsychiatric disorders include depression,physical well being.
psychoses like anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia,Very little is known about the impact of mental
eating disorders, Alzheimer's disease, in addition todisorders on physical illness in low and middle income
substance and alcohol use disorders.countries. Eighty percent of non-communicable
Professor Martin Prince of the London King's Collegedisease deaths occur in these countries and mental
Institute of Psychiatry claims that mental illness canhealthcare budgets are too low to measure the
increase the likelihood of developing and amplifying aimpact of neuropsychiatric disorders. Professor Prince
wide range of physical illnesses. He explains thatclaims that "Mental health awareness needs to be
neuropsychiatric disorders are commonlyintegrated into all elements of health and social policy...
accompanied by communicable and non-communicable