TY - JOUR T1 - Association between socioeconomic inequality and the global prevalence of anxiety and depressive disorders: an ecological study JF - General Psychiatry JO - Gen Psych DO - 10.1136/gpsych-2021-100735 VL - 35 IS - 3 SP - e100735 AU - Fatemeh Shahbazi AU - Marjan Shahbazi AU - Jalal Poorolajal Y1 - 2022/06/01 UR - http://gpsych.bmj.com/content/35/3/e100735.abstract N2 - Anxiety and depressive disorders pose significant public health issues across the world. Depression and other depressive disorders are mental illnesses characterised by a profound and persistent feeling of sadness or despair and a loss of interest in formerly pleasurable activities. Disturbances in sleep, appetite and cognitive processes are common symptoms. Globally, 5% of adults are estimated to suffer from the disorder.1 Anxiety disorder is a chronic condition characterised by excessive and persistent apprehension, with physical symptoms such as sweating, palpitations, feelings of stress and increased blood pressure. Baxter and colleagues’ meta-analysis of 87 studies from 44 countries indicated that the global prevalence of this disorder has fluctuated between 0.9% and 28.3%.2 3 These prevalent and debilitating mental disorders can seriously impact daily life, including school performance, work productivity, family and friend interpersonal relationships, and community participation.4 5 Many studies also show strong relationships between these disorders and physical health problems such as tuberculosis, cardiovascular disease, disturbed concentration, sleep disorder and appetite.6–9 Individuals from all countries—young and old, rich and poor—suffer from these conditions. Previous research findings indicate that women, persons with higher education, and urban-dwelling individuals are more likely to have depression and anxiety than men, illiterate individuals, and villagers living in rural communities.10 11 Despite the increased international focus on mental health-related problems and their explicit mention in the World Health Organization (WHO) New Health Plan 2010, many aspects of mental disorders have not been thoroughly investigated. Although the aetiology of these mood disorders has been examined extensively at the individual level in various kinds of research, the population-level characteristics have not received as much attention, including socioeconomic aspects.12 Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the Human Development Index (HDI) elements—life expectancy at birth, education and gross national income per … ER -