Some 600,000 Thais Suffer From Mental Disorder

[george]

Some 600,000 Thais suffer from mental disorder

BANGKOK: -- About six in every 100 Thai people suffer from some form of mental disorder, according to Deputy Public Health Minister Anuthin Charnveerakul. As many as 600,000 of those are chronic sufferers.

Anuthin told a seminar Monday marking Srithanya Psychiatric Hospital's 65th anniversary that a recent World Health Organisation report claimed a quarter of the world's population had suffered mental health problems at some time in their lives, while about 35 to 45 per cent of work absences resulted from mental health problems.

He said the WHO also predicted that within 14 years, economic and social losses from depression and similar disorders would be severe, ranking second only to heart and blood diseases.

As for Thailand, about 1 per cent of the population, or 600,000 people, was estimated to be mentally ill. A further 5 per cent suffered from depression and depressive episodes, Anuthin said.

--The Nation 2006-06-26

[JT65]

Only 600,000 , sure it wasnt a misprint. More like 60 million.

I will get flamed for this comment but I couldnt help myself. Ive been here far too long.

[sriracha john]

The actual number is somewhere in-between.

World-wide incidence of just two of the more severe forms of mental illness, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, is approximately 2%, which put Thailand's number for just 2 of these illnesses at around 1.35 million Thais. Again, that's just for 2 classifications of mental illnesses among dozens out there.

Now, if the good Dr. (oops... I forgot the Deputy Public Health Minister is neither a physician nor a Dr.)... now, if the good Mr. Anuthin could explain why he feels Thailand doesn't fall within the parameters of the international average incidence for mental illness, I'm sure many learned people would be very interested in listening to him.

[gisele]

Mental Disorders in America

Mental disorders are common in the United States and internationally. An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.1 When applied to the 2004 U.S. Census residential population estimate for ages 18 and older, this figure translates to 57.7 million people.2Even though mental disorders are widespread in the population, the main burden of illness is concentrated in a much smaller proportion — about 6 percent, or 1 in 17 — who suffer from a serious mental illness.1 In addition, mental disorders are the leading cause of disability in the U.S. and Canada for ages 15-44.3 Many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a given time. Nearly half (45 percent) of those with any mental disorder meet criteria for 2 or more disorders, with severity strongly related to comorbidity.1

In the U.S., mental disorders are diagnosed based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV).4

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/numbers.cfm

[GuestHouse]

Careful with these numbers.

In the UK the condition known as ADHD was hardly on the radar, cases were recorded and doctors were trained to pick it up during surgery visits, but the figures remained low.

They shot through the roof when the British Government announced special welfare payments to families with children suffering ADHD. I personally know one parent who tried several times to get her child diagnosed with ADHD in order to get the welfare payments. There was nothing wrong with the child.

Likewise US statistics, where there is a whole private, profit making industry catering to mental illness - There are financial rewards for over reporting.

[sriracha john]

Hence, more reliable figures are to be taken from the above international average incidence with numbers reported and factored from 200 countries, including Thailand.

I'm afraid Mr. Anuthin should stick to topics with which he is much more familar with... such as he announced earlier this year:

Thailand to Host World Toilet Summit in 2006

Thailand will host a world toilet summit in 2006 and has vowed to improve their public toilets for tourists to meet basic international standards.

Deputy Public Health Minister Anuthin Charnveerakul said Bangkok would host the "World Toilet Expo and Public Toilet Forum," in May 2006.

He also said that health officials would inspect public toilets at schools, restaurants and tourist venues to ensure they met international sanitary standards. The ministry's aim is to make at least 60% of public toilets at tourist venues meet the standards.

"Toilets are very important for the country's image in the eyes of visitors."

[Soph]

Well interesting stuff, I sure have met a few in my time over there. Well lets hope these people can get some help at some point.

[Thaising]

Just wondering why there wasn’t any statistics on suicide rates due to depression that creates mental illness or Deputy Public Health Minister Anuthin Charnveerakul don’t have the figure or he just blackout the entire news and pretend that these issues are very normal.

[jdinasia]

6-7% is probably a likely number ... with 1-2% being Chronic acute severe (disabling). But since Phych care in Thailand is abysmal we'll never really know. The good thing is that the family welfare system ... is intact here for the most part ... Children will care for aging parents etc ... and many parents will continue to care for adult children as well.

[thailien8]

We are all insane. No one can exist in this bizarre "civilization" we have created and not be insane. It is essential for survival in our asylum. Religion is mass insanity, as is nationalism. We are human animals, nothing more. If our insanity does not kill us off, we may continue to evolve. White skin is not better than dark skin. Male is not superior to female. Money and power does not make a person better than another person. Your god is not truer than someone else's god. Sexual pleasure is not a crime. Suicidal bombing will not get anyone into heaven. Neither will counting rosary beads, stroking a crucifix, or memorizing the Koran.

[Scott]

GH and others, remember that diagnosis of mental disorders is made by trained professionals, either psychiatrists or psychologists before a mental condition is listed. I very much doubt that they have much insentive to inflate the numbers. If there are financial benefits then the family may lie about the symptoms in order to get a diagnosis, but most Dr's. would catch on quickly.

The prevelence of these diseases remains relatively constant with a certain % experiencing them. The % of male vs. females is also known. If these variations change much, then usually researchers will start looking very carefully at what is happening. That is why it is referred to as the Diagnostic and Statistical manual.

The final thing to remember is that a lot of people have dual-diagnosis. They may be suffering from more than one mental condition. This results in an overall increase in numerical reporting and what would initially seem like "inflated" figures. For example a lot of people suffering from depression also suffer from alcoholism (or some form of substance abuse).

[sriracha john]

GH and others, remember that diagnosis of mental disorders is made by trained professionals, either psychiatrists or psychologists before a mental condition is listed. I very much doubt that they have much insentive to inflate the numbers. If there are financial benefits then the family may lie about the symptoms in order to get a diagnosis, but most Dr's. would catch on quickly.

The prevelence of these diseases remains relatively constant with a certain % experiencing them. The % of male vs. females is also known. If these variations change much, then usually researchers will start looking very carefully at what is happening. That is why it is referred to as the Diagnostic and Statistical manual.

Excellent points...

and yes, the "fakes" are relatively simple to sort out. Not much different from spotting and identifying the trolls here on TV.

[gisele]

We are all insane. No one can exist in this bizarre "civilization" we have created and not be insane. It is essential for survival in our asylum. Religion is mass insanity, as is nationalism. We are human animals, nothing more. If our insanity does not kill us off, we may continue to evolve. White skin is not better than dark skin. Male is not superior to female. Money and power does not make a person better than another person. Your god is not truer than someone else's god. Sexual pleasure is not a crime. Suicidal bombing will not get anyone into heaven. Neither will counting rosary beads, stroking a crucifix, or memorizing the Koran.

Well said.

[chownah]

GH and others, remember that diagnosis of mental disorders is made by trained professionals, either psychiatrists or psychologists before a mental condition is listed. I very much doubt that they have much insentive to inflate the numbers.

Scott,

I think that mental health professionals in fact do have an insentive to inflate the numbers. They have trained for many years and invested alot of time and energy into developing their skills and they feel that they are fulfilling a very very important role in society. The larger the number of mentally ill people there are then the more important they become....the more earning potential, the more professional prestige, the more political power...etc.

Another issue is the "you'll find what you are looking for" syndrome. It is well understood in cognitive psychology that you are much more likely to find what you are looking for. Given a collection of random ink blots or cloud patterns asked to find the dog will indeed find one even thought the patterns are totally random and non-representational. This is a real problem in science and is the reason why the best studies are "double blind". There are many skeptics even within the health care profession who caution about the somewhat arbitrary way that psychological illness is defined and then diagnosed. A good case to consider is the professional alcoholism councilor. Did you know that if you have two drinks every night and drink to mild intoxication every week end then you are an alcoholic?....that's what a large percentage of alcoholism coucilors use as one basis for their diagnosis. They also consider that if one of your parents drank heavily then this is a factor too...and if you are over 40 years old and have never had a relationship that lasted over 10 years that this is a factor too. You might say that these are professionals and have no insentive to inflate the number of alcoholics in the world but it seems to me that they in fact have a very strong bias and use diagnostic techiniques that are somewhat arbitrary....many health care professionals have said the same thing and even suggested that alcoholism counciling is a scam......but I don't know.....maybe I'm wrong.

Chownah

[solo siam]

I was always under the impression that if you drank alcohol every single day then you were an alcoholic.

I'm betting that its higher than 2% as well, How much goes undiagnosed as "ghosts", "demons", "posessions" etc... Although I don't think it will be anywhere near what the % is in the West. Thai's generally just dont have enough free time on their hands to worry about things.

[Scott]

I still doubt that there is much incentive to inflate the numbers. I think that people are mixing up the professionals who earn a living from treating people. You don't need to have a diagnosis for this--lots of people are just plain unhappy and neurotic--meaning they fall roughly into the "normal" range. Professionals can treat them for years.

I've known wealthy folks who sent their children to a therapist every week even though there was not problem. They wanted to make sure they had someone to talk to if a problem arose.

[AsiaWolfie]

I moved to Thailand, thus, I MUST be mentally ill just kidddddddinnnnnn nah, honestly, what makes me more scared here is the fact that almost everyone can get firearms.... and many have no problem using it to "solve problems" that way..... its a pity thing in countries with a lot of underpriviliged folks, that mentally ill people dont get a proper treatment....