2023-04-25 08:31:17
Mental health is one of the problems that worries society the most, but also governments and institutions. It is estimated that 7.2% of the population of the European Union suffers from chronic depression. In addition, in Spain, 18% of the population over fifteen years of age is at risk of poor mental health.
This is what emerges from the report “Approach to mental health in Spain”prepared by the Institute for the Development and Integration of Health (IDIS Foundation) and in which, in addition, the mental health situation at a European and national level is analyzed, as well as the contribution made by private healthcare in this area.
And it is that according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)approximately half of the population comes to experience some mental health problem throughout their lives, with an individual and social impact that results in less employability and lower productivity.
The mental health situation in Spain
The European Health Survey in Spain (EESE) shows that the chronic anxiety and the depression are the most frequent mental health problems among the Spanish population.
He 5,8 % of Spaniards over the age of fifteen suffer from chronic anxiety and the 5,3 % of depression. In the case of people over 85 years of age, the rate is in the 11,7 %.
Graph of the report “Approach to mental health in Spain”Regarding the disorders that are more prevalent in men than in women, those of the personality and the schizophrenia.
Women, greater presence of mental disorders
According to the study, although the difference between the prevalence of mental disorders between men and women has been decreasing over the years, the 67,2 % of cases of mental disorders occur in women.
Thus, there are higher rates of depression, anxiety, stress, somatizations, eating disorders, and consumption of tranquilizers/relaxants, while men have higher rates of suicides y antisocial disorders.
Along the same lines, the EESE points out that from the age of fifteen, the registered prevalence of Eating disordersuch as anorexia nervosa and bulimia are skyrocketing and, furthermore, they occur mostly in women (up to six times more than in men).
More drug use
He drug use related to mental health is another aspect highlighted by the report.
Graph of the report “Approach to mental health in Spain”He 10,9 % of the population over fifteen years of age indicates having consumed them in the last two weeks, with women aged 65 indicating the highest consumption.
And in recent years, there has been an increase in the consumption of psycholeptics y psychoanaleptics.
70% of mental disorders begin in the childhood-adolescent stage
The results of the study also show that the 70 % of mental disorders, in general, begin during this childhood-adolescent stage.
And having good mental health is essential, since it makes it easier to reach milestones of physical and emotional developmentin addition to allowing the learning of certain social skills and being able to face problems in more mature stages.
As indicated by IDIS, the development of new lifestyle habits and the increasingly early incorporation of new technologies are putting into mental health risk of the infant-adolescent population.
It is estimated that the 73,9 % of children spend an hour or more of their free time per day in front of a screen, a percentage that increases to 82,6 % weekends.
The role of private healthcare in mental health care
For the Director General of the IDIS Foundation, Marta Villanueva, private healthcare “plays an essential role in the field of mental health, concentrating the 70 % specialized centers and drug addiction treatment and the 49 % of health centers without hospitalization”.
As can be seen from the report, the private sector has a 63 % of the total of beds available in this ambit. In addition to hospitals, there are also 764 mental health centers in Spain, of which approximately half are private.
Regarding the units dedicated to mental health in Spanish hospitals, there are currently 593 clinical psychology and psychiatry units registered in the 832 hospitals, of which 311 They belong to private hospitals.
The percentage of clinical psychology and psychiatry units belonging to private hospitals are located in the 52 % since 2017.
Address mental health as a priority
On the other hand, it is important that governments put in place public health policies that contribute to improving the mental health of the population and in turn generate an additional positive impact on the economy.
It is also essential that this problem be addressed with gender perspectivesince it shows that this type of disorder does not occur in the same way in men as in women, due to psychosocial risks associated with socioeconomic and gender determinantssuch as work and care overload and the wage gap.
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