According to a new study led by researchers at the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington in Seattle, depression has surpassed asthma as the largest contributor to ‘years lived with disabilities’ for youths aged 10 -14.
The scientists published their findings in the journal The Lancet¹. The estimation of years lived with disabilities (YLD) was used as a collective metric to see how much a particular disorder deprives the population of healthy years of life during a specific window of time. In 2010, just as in 1990, depression ranked number two in YLD, affecting 4% of the global population. Only back pain, which has affected 10% of the population worldwide, affected more people.
Among 10 to 14 year olds, the top contributor worldwide was iron deficiency. Asthma had been the largest contributor to YLDs for youths in the US and Canada in 1990, but the newest study, depression surpassed asthma. The YLD from depression grew from 140,000 in 1990 to 180,000 in 2010, a 30% increase.
The global figures of YLD from depression grew from 4.9 million in 1990 to 5.5 million in 2010, a 13% increase. Whether the change in numbers reflects an actual increase in children who develop depression, a better diagnosis, documentation or the way that healthcare practitioners and policy makers view mental health, is still an open question.
Whereas depression accounted for the most YLDs among adolescents, the disease burden from anxiety, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in the US and Canada of all ages ranked 5, 10 and 18, respectively. By comparison, anxiety, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder ranked 7, 16 and 18, respectively, among the world population of all ages.
- Global Burden of Disease 2010, The Lancet.
[via Nature Medicine]