Report: Untreated mental disorders cost Romania USD 11 billion in 2022

The economic costs of untreated mental disorders in Romania are estimated, for the year 2022, at approximately USD 11 billion, representing 3.47% of the GDP, according to a report by the Economic and Social Council, drafted in collaboration with specialists in mental disorders.

“In Romania, as in the rest of Europe, mental disorders have a major financial impact. For example, anxiety disorders, being the most common mental disorders in the country, are responsible for a substantial cost, which, according to some studies, amounted in 2010 to EUR 11.26 billion (EUR 525 per capita), representing almost 7% of Romania's GDP at that time,” the report states, cited by News.ro.

The document emphasizes that although many of these disorders show their first signs in childhood, nationally, specialists have not identified even a single measure for the detection of children with such problems and the timely provision of services for these patients.

“Until now, we have not identified at the national level any measure that proposes the screening of mental health issues or the identification of risk factors for mental health problems in children. Effective screening aims to identify at-risk children through simple methods with minimal costs and then to comprehensively evaluate them and/or subsequently provide them with the services they need, including for mental health issues such as suicide. The costs of such screening are lower than the interventions that would have to be offered to children who have not been identified with mental health issues early on, and the educational system is one of the optimal environments where this screening can be conducted,” the report's authors state.

They also refer to the under-reporting of mental health problems and their social determinants, arguing that this can have several causes, among which the most important are the precarious funding of population-based epidemiological studies, the social stigma associated with mental disorders, and the lack of knowledge about mental health issues.

The report proposes the implementation of a national mental health study to assess the prevalence of psychological conditions among the population of Romania. Other proposals refer to increasing funding for research in the field of mental health to support the development of psychological interventions and evidence-based public policies, as well as the establishment of a national mental health registry to collect data on psychological conditions among the population and to monitor the effectiveness of mental health services.