Data from the Headway 2023 Mental Health Index also reflects the impact of mental health problems on children, highlighting “a possible link between psychological illness and school dropout.” According to the authors of the article, one in three teenagers who drop out of school also suffer from a mental disorder.
Research shows that 20% of the working-age population “experiences mild to moderate mental illness at some point in their lives.”
The document, published alongside the study, highlighted that mental health in Europe was “of concern” long before the pandemic, when more than 84 million people had mental health problems and 165,000 died annually due to mental illness or suicide.
“Suicide is the sixth leading cause of death in the general population and the fourth leading cause of death in the young population. In some countries, the impact of mental disorders on young people is stronger than the impact of all other health problems combined, ”says a document released by a private group.
Pregnant women in the postpartum period or victims of trauma such as miscarriage or partner abuse were considered the most vulnerable to the psychological effects of the pandemic.
The burden of household chores and childcare also had a significant impact on women’s mental well-being: 44% of women with children under 12 reported having difficulty doing household chores, compared with just 20% of men.
As the pandemic progressed, the prolonged exposure of health workers to extremely stressful and potentially traumatic situations made them particularly vulnerable to mental stress and anxiety, affecting health in the long term: “In Europe, 57% of health workers reported symptoms. post-traumatic stress disorder in the midst of a pandemic.
The employment rate of people with depression is “very heterogeneous”, ranging from 27% in Romania to 68% in Germany. “However, episodes of absenteeism and presence in the workplace (the body is present in the workplace, but not) are frequent, and the cost of lost productivity is high (1.6% of European GDP),” the source said.
