Sad story: Over 5 crore Indians suffer from depression, reveals WHO study

NEWDELHI: Nearly 4.5% of India’s population suffers from depression, which is almost similar to the global percentage that stands at 4.4%, reveals the latest World Health Organisation (WHO) data.

India also has the highest cases of depression in the WHO’s South East Asia Region (WHO-SEAR) that includes 11 countries —Pakistan (4.2%), Bhutan (4.2%), Bangladesh (4.1%), Sri Lanka (4.1%), Myanmar (3.7%), Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (3.7%), Indonesia (3.7%), Maldives (3.7%) and Timor-Leste (3%).

The number of people in India suffering from depression is roughly about 5,66,75,969. Also, 3% of India’s population (3, 84, 25, 093) is living with anxiety disorder. Common mental disorders are broadly categorised anxiety disorders.

Depression is ranked by WHO as the single largest contributor to global disability bility in 2015); anxiety disorders are ranked 6th (3.4%). It is also a major contributor in suicides, accounting for 8 lakh deaths in

“This is just a tip of the iceberg as actual numbers could be much higher. High time people pay attention to mental health and understand it’s equally important,” says professor Rajesh Sagar, department of psychiatry, AIIMS.

This year’s theme for World Health Day revolves around depression, which is an illness that affects people of all ages, from all walks of life, in all countries.

The number of people living with depression has gone up, with an increase of 18% between 2005 and 2015.

Low levels of recognition and access to care for depression and anxiety lead to an estimated global economic loss of more than a trillion US dollars every year.

The WHO document— ‘Depression and other common mental disorders. Global health estimates was released on