Given our Languish contingent I'm not surprised! ;)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44394646/ns/health-mental_health/
QuoteNearly 40 percent of Europeans suffer mental illness
Depression, dementia, alcohol dependency and stroke are common culprits
Reuters
updated 1 hour 25 minutes ago 2011-09-04T23:29:41
LONDON — Europeans are plagued by mental and neurological illnesses, with almost 165 million people or 38 percent of the population suffering each year from a brain disorder such as depression, anxiety, insomnia or dementia, according to a large new study.
With only about a third of cases receiving the therapy or medication needed, mental illnesses cause a huge economic and social burden -- measured in the hundreds of billions of euros -- as sufferers become too unwell to work and personal relationships break down.
"Mental disorders have become Europe's largest health challenge of the 21st century," the study's authors said.
At the same time, some big drug companies are backing away from investment in research on how the brain works and affects behavior, putting the onus on governments and health charities to stump up funding for neuroscience.
"The immense treatment gap ... for mental disorders has to be closed," said Hans Ulrich Wittchen, director of the institute of clinical psychology and psychotherapy at Germany's Dresden University and the lead investigator on the European study.
"Those few receiving treatment do so with considerable delays of an average of several years and rarely with the appropriate, state-of-the-art therapies."
Wittchen led a three-year study covering 30 European countries -- the 27 European Union member states plus Switzerland, Iceland and Norway -- and a population of 514 million people.
A direct comparison of the prevalence of mental illnesses in other parts of the world was not available because different studies adopt varying parameters.
Wittchen's team looked at about 100 illnesses covering all major brain disorders from anxiety and depression to addiction to schizophrenia, as well as major neurological disorders including epilepsy, Parkinson's and multiple sclerosis.
The results, published by the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ENCP) on Monday, show an "exceedingly high burden" of mental health disorders and brain illnesses, he told reporters at a briefing in London.
Mental illnesses are a major cause of death, disability, and economic burden worldwide and the World Health Organization predicts that by 2020, depression will be the second leading contributor to the global burden of disease across all ages.
Wittchen said that in Europe, that grim future had arrived early, with diseases of the brain already the single largest contributor to the EU's burden of ill health.
Four conditions are most disabling
The four most disabling conditions — measured in terms of disability-adjusted life years or DALYs, a standard measure used to compare the impact of various diseases — are depression, dementias such as Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia, alcohol dependence and stroke.
The last major European study of brain disorders, which was published in 2005 and covered a smaller population of about 301 million people, found 27 percent of the EU adult population was suffering from mental illnesses.
Although the 2005 study cannot be compared directly with the latest finding -- the scope and population was different -- it found the cost burden of these and neurological disorders amounted to about 386 billion euros ($555 billion) a year at that time. Wittchen's team has yet to finalize the economic impact data from this latest work, but he said the costs would be "considerably more" than estimated in 2005.
The researchers said it was crucial for health policy makers to recognize the enormous burden and devise ways to identify potential patients early -- possibly through screening -- and make treating them quickly a high priority.
"Because mental disorders frequently start early in life, they have a strong malignant impact on later life," Wittchen said. "Only early targeted treatment in the young will effectively prevent the risk of increasingly largely proportions of severely ill...patients in the future."
David Nutt, a neuropsychopharmacology expert at Imperial College London who was not involved in this study, agreed.
"If you can get in early you may be able to change the trajectory of the illness so that it isn't inevitable that people go into disability," he said. "If we really want not to be left with this huge reservoir of mental and brain illness for the next few centuries, then we ought to be investing more now."
Homosexuality is a mental illness.
Quote from: jimmy olsen on September 04, 2011, 08:00:45 PM
Given our Languish contingent I'm not surprised! ;)
:huh: As far as I know, Raz and I are the only ones who are "out" as diagnosed, and neither of us are Euros.
*caveat: I'm not sure if Siege counts; he's obviously messed up, he jokes about having PTSD, but I don't know if he's actually done anything about it. :P
Quote from: Neil on September 04, 2011, 08:22:23 PM
Homosexuality is a mental illness.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F29.media.tumblr.com%2Ftumblr_lg6onosbi91qenz53o1_400.gif&hash=8c954bf93a4f205ecdccb9b24f084e255853b385)
Genetic disorder?
Quote from: DontSayBanana on September 04, 2011, 08:31:15 PM
Quote from: jimmy olsen on September 04, 2011, 08:00:45 PM
Given our Languish contingent I'm not surprised! ;)
:huh: As far as I know, Raz and I are the only ones who are "out" as diagnosed, and neither of us are Euros.
*caveat: I'm not sure if Siege counts; he's obviously messed up, he jokes about having PTSD, but I don't know if he's actually done anything about it. :P
Manic depressive.
Quote from: DontSayBanana on September 04, 2011, 08:31:15 PM
*caveat: I'm not sure if Siege counts; he's obviously messed up, he jokes about having PTSD, but I don't know if he's actually done anything about it. :P
He squeezes the toothpaste until it screams every morning.
Quote from: Habsburg on September 04, 2011, 08:35:49 PM
Quote from: Neil on September 04, 2011, 08:22:23 PM
Homosexuality is a mental illness.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F29.media.tumblr.com%2Ftumblr_lg6onosbi91qenz53o1_400.gif&hash=8c954bf93a4f205ecdccb9b24f084e255853b385)
In China it is. I think it's called Ego Dystonic something or another. I think it actually meets the criteria of mental illness in the West, but was removed from the DSM IV in the 1970's. The criteria hasn't changed though. It should probably be considered a fairly harmless paraphilic disorder. After all I think people who are sexually attracted to machines are considered to have a mental illness. The root cause is likely the same.
China kills Tibetians and Students. They are communists. They are beneath contempt. Yes, even below Russians.
I exempt civiziled Hong Kongers from this statement.
I love Thad McCotter refers to them as the COMMUNIST CHINESE in every interview. I'll likely vote for him in the GOP primary.
Habsy voting in GOP primary? :P
Quote from: Habsburg on September 04, 2011, 10:45:07 PM
China kills Tibetians and Students. They are communists. They are beneath contempt. Yes, even below Russians.
Amen, my friend.
Quote
I exempt civiziled Hong Kongers from this statement.
I do not. They're still Chinese, chock full of Chinese bullshit. Shark fin soup. Subhuman mutts.
Quote
I love Thad McCotter refers to them as the COMMUNIST CHINESE in every interview. I'll likely vote for him in the GOP primary.
My kind of candidate.
Meanwhile, Poles are smarter than Americans:
http://www.iq-tests-for-the-high-range.com/statistics/iq_by_country.html
;)
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 05, 2011, 12:45:34 AM
I do not. They're still Chinese, chock full of Chinese bullshit. Shark fin soup. Subhuman mutts.
What are your thoughts on Taiwanese?
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on September 05, 2011, 02:02:39 AM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 05, 2011, 12:45:34 AM
I do not. They're still Chinese, chock full of Chinese bullshit. Shark fin soup. Subhuman mutts.
What are your thoughts on Taiwanese?
REPUBLIC of CHINA :contract:
Quote from: Neil on September 04, 2011, 08:41:36 PM
Genetic disorder?
:lol:
Based on some of my dates, yes.
Quote from: Syt on September 05, 2011, 12:54:24 AM
Meanwhile, Poles are smarter than Americans:
http://www.iq-tests-for-the-high-range.com/statistics/iq_by_country.html
;)
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F29.media.tumblr.com%2Ftumblr_lg6onosbi91qenz53o1_400.gif&hash=8c954bf93a4f205ecdccb9b24f084e255853b385)
Quote from: Habsburg on September 04, 2011, 10:45:07 PM
China kills Tibetians and Students. They are communists. They are beneath contempt. Yes, even below Russians.
I exempt civiziled Hong Kongers from this statement.
I love Thad McCotter refers to them as the COMMUNIST CHINESE in every interview. I'll likely vote for him in the GOP primary.
I use PRChinese. It's punchier.
Isn't this article using 'mental illness' pretty widely to mean anything that affects the brain. I've never heard of strokes being considered a mental illness before :mellow:
Quote from: Ideologue on September 05, 2011, 04:57:11 AM
Quote from: Habsburg on September 04, 2011, 10:45:07 PM
China kills Tibetians and Students. They are communists. They are beneath contempt. Yes, even below Russians.
I exempt civiziled Hong Kongers from this statement.
I love Thad McCotter refers to them as the COMMUNIST CHINESE in every interview. I'll likely vote for him in the GOP primary.
I use PRChinese. It's punchier.
Speaking of the Chinese, just saw this population pyramid. Totally fucked up.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2F3%2F34%2FChina_population_pyramid_2005.png&hash=a0e3eea3dc6503c0bc7f41f38e35445a588e7c46)
Quote from: jimmy olsen on September 05, 2011, 06:38:37 AM
Speaking of the Chinese, just saw this population pyramid. Totally fucked up.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2F3%2F34%2FChina_population_pyramid_2005.png&hash=a0e3eea3dc6503c0bc7f41f38e35445a588e7c46)
Indefinite population growth isn't feasible, you jag.
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on September 05, 2011, 02:02:39 AM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 05, 2011, 12:45:34 AM
I do not. They're still Chinese, chock full of Chinese bullshit. Shark fin soup. Subhuman mutts.
What are your thoughts on Taiwanese?
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F_FzYuispJg14%2FS94ELw-OBBI%2FAAAAAAAABOQ%2FCOk5mYMvjx8%2FS1600-R%2FLYDB-with-border.png&hash=cb683cad6079ebbc8b4c9dac1ea111c295b52e06)
Quote from: Neil on September 05, 2011, 07:39:37 AM
Indefinite population growth isn't feasible, you jag.
Look at the chart a little closer.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 05, 2011, 07:50:33 AM
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on September 05, 2011, 02:02:39 AM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 05, 2011, 12:45:34 AM
I do not. They're still Chinese, chock full of Chinese bullshit. Shark fin soup. Subhuman mutts.
What are your thoughts on Taiwanese?
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F_FzYuispJg14%2FS94ELw-OBBI%2FAAAAAAAABOQ%2FCOk5mYMvjx8%2FS1600-R%2FLYDB-with-border.png&hash=cb683cad6079ebbc8b4c9dac1ea111c295b52e06)
:lol:
Shoulda rolled with the Wayne's World clip though.
Quote from: Sheilbh on September 05, 2011, 05:58:50 AM
Isn't this article using 'mental illness' pretty widely to mean anything that affects the brain. I've never heard of strokes being considered a mental illness before :mellow:
I thought that strange as well. I guess mental illness is just anything that effects cognitive function. I suppose a fever is a mental illness as well.
Quote from: Ideologue on September 05, 2011, 08:15:36 AM
:lol:
Shoulda rolled with the Wayne's World clip though.
You know, I had considered that, but wasn't sure all these youngun' Eurosnots would've gotten the reference.
I'm going to start calling the Taiwanese Nuprins. If they don't get it, cultural illiteracy is their problem.
Quote from: Sheilbh on September 05, 2011, 05:58:50 AM
Isn't this article using 'mental illness' pretty widely to mean anything that affects the brain. I've never heard of strokes being considered a mental illness before :mellow:
Or alcoholism. :lol: