Study Estimates Roughly 40 Percent of Europeans Suffer From Mental Illness

We have previously discussed studies showing high levels of mental illness in the United States. Now a Europeans shows a similarly high rate 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.” What is interesting is that the rate is higher in Europe as compared to the U.S. study cited earlier. The European study however appears to be broader in considering neurological conditions associated with illnesses like stroke.

The U.S. study found roughly 30 percent of Americans suffered from mental illness.

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, warns that Europe is not spending enough to deal with this huge crisis in health care.

The three-year study covered 30 European countries — the 27 European Union member states plus Switzerland, Iceland and Norway — and a population of 514 million people.

The four most common conditions were depression, dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia, alcohol dependence and stroke. A study in 2005 was closer to the U.S. finding: showing 27 percent of the EU adult population was suffering from mental illnesses.

Source: Yahoo