Mental disorders affect 23 million people in Brazil

BRASILIA, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-three million Brazilians need mental health care and at least 5 million people suffer from severe and persistent mental disorders, according to data from the Brazilian Psychiatric Association released on Monday.

The most frequent diseases are linked to depression, anxiety and adjustment disorders, but public policies for mental health give priority to more serious illnesses such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

Since the approval of the so called Psychiatric Reform Law, investments are focused mainly on measures to replace care at psychiatric hospitals with open and community-based services.

The implementation of replacement network - with the creation of Centers for Psychosocial Care (CAPS) and therapeutic homes and increasing the number of psychiatric beds in general hospitals - has advanced, but it still coexists with the former model, marked by long-stay hospitalization in psychiatric hospitals.

Brazil has 1,513 CAPS, but distribution is still uneven. In the state of Amazon, for example, with 3 million residents, there are only four centers.

Across the country there are 564 therapeutic homes, sheltering 3,062 residents.

Worldwide, more than 400 million people are affected by mental disorders or behavioral problems. Mental health problems account for half of the ten leading causes of disability, according to World Health Organization (WHO).

According to data from the WHO, 62 percent of countries have mental health policies, including Brazil. Last year, the country invested 1.4 billion reais (about 780 billion U.S. dollars) in mental health programs.

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