People in war zones are more likely to suffer from mental illnesses such as depression – Technology News, Firstpost

ReutersJune 12, 2019 17:45:59 IST

One in five people living in a war zone suffers from depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, the World Health Organization said Tuesday. Many people had severe forms of these mental illnesses.

The findings underline the long-term impact of war-related crises in countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen, said the report. United Nations health agency, and the numbers are significantly higher than in peacetime population, where about one in 14 people have mental illness. "Given the large number of people in need and the humanitarian imperative of reducing suffering, there is an urgent need to implement scalable mental health interventions to cope with this burden," said the minister. ;Research Team.

Mark van Ommeren, a WHO mental health specialist who worked for the team, said the findings "add even more weight to the argument for an investment." immediate and sustained, so that psychological and psychosocial support is made available to all people in need who live in conflict and its consequences. "

In 2016, the number of ongoing armed conflicts reached a record 53 in 37 countries and 12% of the world's population lives in an active war zone, according to United Nations figures. Since the Second World War, nearly 69 million people around the world have been forced to flee war and violence.

The WHO study on mental health in conflict, published in The medical Lancet This review was conducted by a team of researchers from WHO, the Australian University of Queensland, and the Institute of Metrology and Health Evaluation at the University of Washington and Harvard University, in the USA. He badyzed research from 129 studies and data from 39 countries published between 1980 and August 2017.

Regions that have experienced conflict over the last 10 years have been included and mental illnesses have been clbadified into three categories: mild, moderate and severe. Natural disasters and public health emergencies, such as Ebola, have not been included.

In all war zones, the average prevalence was highest for mild mental health problems, at 13%. About 4% of those living in armed conflict had moderate mental illness and, in severe cases, a prevalence of 5%.

The study also found that rates of depression and anxiety in conflict situations seemed to increase with age and that depression was more common in women than in men. The study was funded by WHO, the Queensland Department of Health and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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