Global epidemiological and indirect economic burden of neurological, mental, and substance use disorders: An analysis based on the global burden of disease data

Tao Rong-Shan; Sun Zhi-Hong; Long Rui-Yu

doi:10.1016/j.cmsj.2026.08.002

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Global epidemiological and indirect economic burden of neurological, mental, and substance use disorders: An analysis based on the global burden of disease data

Chinese Medical Sciences Journal Vol. 41, Issue 2, Pages: 62-71(2026)

Research Article | Updated：2026-10-16

- Global epidemiological and indirect economic burden of neurological, mental, and substance use disorders: An analysis based on the global burden of disease data
- Affiliations：
  
  School of Public Health, Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Monitoring and Disease Control, Ministry of Education, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 561113, China
  School of Public Health, Suzhou Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
- Author bio：
  
  Corresponding author. E-mail: long951236@126.com (R.-Y. Long) .
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1016/j.cmsj.2026.08.002
  CLC：
- Published：2026-06
- Accepted：
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Tao Rong-Shan, Sun Zhi-Hong, Long Rui-Yu. Global epidemiological and indirect economic burden of neurological, mental, and substance use disorders: An analysis based on the global burden of disease data[J]. Chinese Medical Sciences Journal, 2026, 41(2): 62-71.
DOI：

Tao Rong-Shan, Sun Zhi-Hong, Long Rui-Yu. Global epidemiological and indirect economic burden of neurological, mental, and substance use disorders: An analysis based on the global burden of disease data[J]. Chinese Medical Sciences Journal, 2026, 41(2): 62-71. DOI： 10.1016/j.cmsj.2026.08.002.

摘要

Abstract

Objective:

To evaluate the global disease burden and indirect economic costs of neurological

mental

and substance use disorders (NMSDs) from 1990 to 2023.

Methods:

This study analyzed data on incidence

prevalence

and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for NMSDs using data from the Global Burden of Disease 2023 database. Joinpoint regression analysis was used to calculate average annual percentage change. Spearman correlation was applied to examine the association between age-standardized rates and socio-demographic index (SDI). The indirect economic burden was estimated using the human capital approach

incorporating age-adjusted productivity weights and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.

Results:

From 1990 to 2023

the absolute numbers of incident cases

prevalent cases

and DALYs for NMSDs increased substantially

with DALYs for neurological and mental disorders approximately doubling. Age-standardized rates demonstrated

divergent trends across disease categories. For mental disorders

the age-standardized incidence

prevalence

and DALY rates increased by 15.00%

24.00%

and 29.00%

respectively

with the overall burden rising markedly in 2019. In contrast

while the overall burden of substance use disorders declined

a notable exception emerged in high-income North America

where rising rates were observed specifically for opioid and cocaine use disorders. The burden of neurological and mental disorders was higher in females than in males

whereas substance use disorders showed the opposite pattern. The age-standardized DALY rate for motor neuron disease exhibited a significant positive correlation with SDI (

= 0.82

＜ 0.001). The indirect economic burden and its share of GDP increased in most countries

while the share for substance use disorders in China declined by 46.19%.

Conclusion:

The disease burden and economic costs of NMSDs increased globally from 1990 to 2023

with significant geographic

national

and demographic disparities. These findings highlight an urgent need for targeted resource allocation and integrated interventions.

关键词

Keywords

references

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