According to recent survey Prof Jhunu Shamsun Nahar, Chairman of Psychiatry Department of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, said early detection and proper counseling-cum- treatment can cure mental disorders in most cases.
She said about 50 percent of mental disorders originate from childhood and teenage while most of them usually carry the symptoms of mental disorders since birth.
“Mental disorders obviously is a serious problem . . . But lack of proper awareness campaign and diagnosis is a key barrier to this,” she observed.
Mental disorders constitute a major public health problem and contribute to 13 percent of the global burden of disease measured as disability adjusted life years, Nahar mentioned.
Sharing her experience the psychiatric categorically said early detection through proper diagnosis and mass awareness campaign can prevent the mental health problems.
A recent survey of National Mental Health Institute (NMHI) revealed that about 18.04 percent children and 16.01 percent adults of Bangladesh suffer from the different mental disorders, including mentally impaired, behavioural problems, hysteria and depression.
Mental illness refers to a wide range of mental health conditions that apparently affect one’s mood, thinking and behavior. Mental illness include: depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders and addictive behaviors. Many people have mental health concerns from time to time.
The survey said low and middle income countries have higher burden of mental disorders than economically developed countries.
Mental disorders have serious negative effect on survival, and when present with chronic diseases as co-morbid condition, serious mental disorders may reduce life expectancy by about 20 years
Psychiatrist, Epidemiologist and Researcher Dr. Zillur Rahman Khan Ratan of the National Institute of Mental Health told BSS that mental disorders constitute a major public health problem globally with higher burden in low and middle-income countries including Bangladesh.
He said children can experience a range of mental health conditions, including: anxiety disorders. Attention Deficit or Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), eating disorders. mood disorders and schizophrenia.
“Fleeing from classes, fear of school, inattentiveness in study, hysteria, telling lies frequently, tendency to disobeying, fearing anything any reason, showing angriness, destroying anything and depression etc are also symptoms mental disorders,” the expert said suggesting parents to take help of experts in those situation.
Parents should be more careful about these factors of their kids as early and proper diagnosis can solve the problems, he confidently added.
According to a study of World Health Organization (WHO), more than 450 million people in the world are suffering from neuro-psychiatric disorders and in Bangladesh there are 15 million people suffering from mental illnesses of various types . In other words, almost 10 percent of the population is in need of mental health services.
Mental Health constitutes a major public health challenge undermining the social and economic development throughout much of the developing world.
The present government has taken different pragmatic steps at present to provide necessary supports to the patients suffering various types of mental health problems.
The health ministry has a plan to increase the number of psychiatric physicians from the existing ones numbering about 250 all over the country and also appoint a psychiatric at each district hospital across the country.
