Economic Burden of Depression and Anxiety in India– a Case for Investment in Mental Health

Depression and Anxiety are common mental health disorders in India. There is a research gap in estimating the loss of productivity due to the prevalence of anxiety and depression.The method used to conduct this study is VSL and DALYs attributed to depression and anxiety to estimate the loss of productivity.The results show that the cost of depression and anxiety (2011-2020), varied every year. In 2013 the cost was the lowest at 2631·59 million $. In 2019 the cost was highest at 3899·04 million $. During the pandemic the per capita income in the country had shrunk to INR 108620, but the prevalence of the disease increased. Resultantly, the cost of illness was found to be at 12 862·00, 20 985·37,13 200·48 million dollars for mild, moderate, and severe depression and anxiety disorders. The real impact of depression and anxiety on the loss of productivity will be estimated when the interrelationship of poverty, unemployment and mental health disorders is quantified, and it will be realized in future.Funding Information: None.Declaration of Interests: There is no conflict of interest.Ethics Approval Statement: Ethical approval for this type of study is not required by our institute as the data used for the study is in public domain