More than a million people sought mental healthcare in public health institutions across Karnataka during 2018-19, and depression and general anxiety disorders constituted 34% of the cases. This is according to the Karnataka Mental Health Report-2019, brought out by CHD Group, a public health organisation based out of Mangaluru.
According to the report, severe mental health issues (schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) and alcohol and substance abuse constituted 18.4% and 11.2% of the cases, respectively. The rest fell in the category of suicide and diseases involving co-morbid conditions, referral cases, idiopathic ailments, and rare diseases.
The report noted that only 0.37% of the State’s budget health expenditure was allocated towards mental health, of which 74.4% and 62.4% were utilised by the District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) and Manasadhara, respectively. The DMHP has been implemented in all 30 districts since 2016-17.
Among the common mental disorders, the most were reported from Raichur district (17.7%), followed by Bidar (9.3%), Chickballapur (7.7%), and Bengaluru Urban (7.5%). The lowest number of cases were reported in Vijayapura (0.6%), Yadgir (0.7%) and Kodagu (0.8%).
Over the course of the year, 1,874,330 cases of severe mental disorder were reported across the State’s public health institutions. Raichur (13.2%) accounted for the most, followed by Bidar (7.3%) and Ballari (6.1%). Kodagu (0.7%) and Chikkamagaluru (1%) reported the least number of cases. Such cases were higher in Bengaluru Urban (4.1%) than Bengaluru Rural (1.7%).
A majority of alcohol and substance use disorders were reported from Raichur (25.1%), followed by Chickballapur (17.3%) and Bidar (15.7%). Bengaluru Urban (4.2%) reported more cases than Bengaluru Rural (1.3%).
The elderly
The study also revealed high prevalence of mental disorders among the elderly in several districts. Factors such as lack of support and social isolation from family members, limited mobility, and inadequate awareness about the treatments available for mental disorders can further deteriorate mental health among the elderly, the report said.
The report was prepared by CHD Group health professionals Edmond Fernandes, Gautam Satheesh, Shilpa Karir, and Neevan D’Souza.
