One in every three adults in Pakistan suffering from mental health problems

Nearly one in every three adults in Pakistan is suffering from some form of mental or behavioural problem. This information has come out in the country’s first national-level mental health survey. According to researchers, mental health is now one of the biggest challenges to public health in Pakistan.

This was stated in a report of Pakistani media outlet Dawn on Sunday (October 18). The results of the research conducted over five years have been published in the British Medical Journal. The survey was conducted on about 18,000 adults in the four provinces of Pakistan from 2018 to 2022. Researchers claim that this is one of the largest and most comprehensive studies conducted on mental health in the country.

The research has found that 32 percent of adults in Pakistan are currently suffering from some form of mental or behavioural problem. Thirty-eight per cent of people have been affected by such problems at some stage of their lives. Besides, one in every five adults has symptoms meeting the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). More than one in every 10 adults is suffering from depression. Six per cent of those who took part in the survey said that the thought of suicide had come to their minds in the past one month.

The issue of social inequality in the case of mental problems has also come up in the research. The rate of mental problems has been found higher among the elderly, less educated, low-income and unemployed people as well as widows, widowers, divorced and those living separately. These problems are having a negative impact on people’s family life, social relations and work capacity.

Principal researcher of the study and head of the Department of Psychiatry at Hamdard University in Karachi Professor Raza-ur-Rahman said the survey will provide the necessary information for developing effective mental health policies and services in Pakistan. Through this it will be possible to identify the most at-risk population groups, gaps in services and where more support is needed.

Professor Anjum Memon of Brighton and Sussex Medical School in the United Kingdom, who was involved in the research, said that for decades policymakers in Pakistan have had to depend on limited local-level research or international estimates. The new study has provided national-level information on the prevalence of mental and behavioural problems across the country.

According to the researchers, importance must be given to integrating mental health services with primary healthcare, increasing community-based support and training of health workers. Alongside this, long-term initiatives are needed to remove social negative perceptions and discrimination regarding mental illness.

President of the Pakistan Psychiatric Society Professor Wajid Akhundzada said that the limitation of specialised services and the shortage of trained mental health workers are major challenges for the country’s healthcare system. The results of the survey will provide guidance in future for policy formulation, healthcare planning and preparation of community-based support programmes.