Associations of Serious Mental Illness with Earnings: Results from the WHO World Mental Health Surveys

Overview

Journal Br J Psychiatry

Publisher Cambridge University Press

Specialty Psychiatry

Date 2010 Aug 4

PMID 20679263

Citations 56

Authors

Daphna Levinson

Matthew D Lakoma

Maria Petukhova

Michael Schoenbaum

Alan M Zaslavsky

Matthias Angermeyer

Guilherme Borges

Ronny Bruffaerts

Giovanni de Girolamo

Ron de Graaf

Oye Gureje

Josep Maria Haro

Chiyi Hu

Aimee N Karam

Norito Kawakami

Sing Lee

Jean-Pierre Lepine

Mark Oakley Browne

Michail Okoliyski

Jose Posada-Villa

Rajesh Sagar

Maria Carmen Viana

David R Williams

Ronald C Kessler

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Burden-of-illness data, which are often used in setting healthcare policy-spending priorities, are unavailable for mental disorders in most countries.

Aims: To examine one central aspect of illness burden, the association of serious mental illness with earnings, in the World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys.

Method: The WMH Surveys were carried out in 10 high-income and 9 low- and middle-income countries. The associations of personal earnings with serious mental illness were estimated.

Results: Respondents with serious mental illness earned on average a third less than median earnings, with no significant between-country differences (chi(2)(9) = 5.5-8.1, P = 0.52-0.79). These losses are equivalent to 0.3-0.8% of total national earnings. Reduced earnings among those with earnings and the increased probability of not earning are both important components of these associations.

Conclusions: These results add to a growing body of evidence that mental disorders have high societal costs. Decisions about healthcare resource allocation should take these costs into consideration.

Citing Articles

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