Seattle, June 01, 2026.- Almost 1.2 billion people worldwide are living with a mental disorder, nearly double the number recorded in 1990, according to a new study published in The Lancet. Mental disorders are now the leading cause of years lived with disability globally, accounting for more than 17% of all disability worldwide.
In 2023, mental disorders accounted for 171 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) globally, making them the fifth-leading cause of total disease burden worldwide.
Anxiety disorders and major depressive disorders were the leading contributors to global mental disorder burden, with age-standardized prevalence rates rising by more than 47% and 24%, respectively, since 2019.
Mental disorder burden peaked among 15-19-year-olds globally in 2023, highlighting adolescence as a critical period for prevention and early intervention.
Global mental disorder disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) by age and sex, 2023
ADHD: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
IDID: idiopathic developmental intellectual disability
Women experienced a disproportionately higher mental disorder burden globally in 2023, with an estimated 620 million women living with a mental disorder compared to 552 million men, as well as higher DALY rates worldwide.
High-income regions such as Australasia and Western Europe recorded some of the highest mental disorder burden rates globally, particularly in countries such as the Netherlands, Portugal, and Australia.
Citation
GBD 2023 Mental Disorder Collaborators. Updated trends in the global prevalence and burden of mental disorders, 1990–2023: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023. The Lancet. 21 May 2026. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(26)00519-2