Burden of depressive and anxiety disorders among youth revealed
Adolescent mental health issues can have immediate and long-term effects on their health and social well-being.
What you need to know:
- Analysing data from the Global Disease Burden of 2019, the researchers show that when young people with mental disorders were bullied or suffered any form of victimisation, they were highly susceptible to getting a form of disability caused by a mental disorder.
- Other risk factors for mental conditions cited by the scientists that may have detrimental effects on young Kenyans include illicit drug use, exposure to lead, violence from intimate partners and child sexual abuse.
A new analysis on the state of mental health in the country shows that depressive and anxiety disorders are the most prevalent mental disorders among young people.
The study, published in the scientific journal Lancet E-Clinical Medicine, shows that in the year that the study was conducted among 10-24-year-olds, mental disorders were the second leading cause of disability.
Analysing data from the Global Disease Burden of 2019, the researchers show that when young people with mental disorders were bullied or suffered any form of victimisation, they were highly susceptible to getting a form of disability caused by a mental disorder.
Other risk factors for mental conditions cited by the scientists that may have detrimental effects on young Kenyans include illicit drug use, exposure to lead, violence from intimate partners and child sexual abuse.
The study shows that more females compared to males had disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) because of depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder and eating disorders.
On the other hand, the male gender trumped females in the number of DALYs for schizophrenia, conduct disorder, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), intellectual or developmental disability (IDD), personality disorders and substance use disorders.
“The DALYs for depressive and anxiety disorders were higher for older age groups. This may be attributed to known changes in stressors that accompany transitions in older age groups. Whereas the DALYs rate for conduct disorders and ADHD are lower for older age groups,” explains the study.
The study shows that while eating disorders have traditionally been given little attention, their rise among females is worrying.
“African mental health specialists have not paid attention to eating disorders due to a belief that a high level of individuation and prosperity was associated with these disorders.
However, the rise in eating disorders in females points to issues around family dynamics, self-esteem and body image that appear to contribute to a rise in eating disorders. Studies in this area point to a poor quality of life satisfaction in female adolescents than their male counterparts,” explains the researchers.
The researchers recommend that there is a need for improved surveillance of mental health and substance use burden at national and county levels in the country.
They explain that the risk factors linked with mental illnesses like childhood sexual abuse, intimate partner violence and bullying victimisation must be addressed through gender-responsive school, family level and community-based sensitisation and interventions.
“Early screening and interventions for neurodevelopmental and pervasive development disorders should address risk factors like lead poisoning,” they explain.
“Focus on timely screening and intervention for idiopathic developmental intellectual disability, conduct disorder and substance use disorder in young boys and depression, anxiety and eating disorders in young girls and women is critically needed,” says the scientists.
At the moment, Kenya has few data sets on the state of mental health in the country.
The scientists implore researchers to consider having routine collection and reporting of mental health indicators at the national and subnational levels in Kenya, as recommended by the WHO Mental Health Action Plan 2013–2030.
