NCD patients more likely to suffer mental illness—report

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People living with diabetes are 2 to 3 times more likely to have depression than people without diabetes, and, only 25% to 50% of people with diabetes who have depression are diagnosed and treated, a new report has revealed.

A report dubbed: Fostering Enabling Environments to Deliver Integrated, People-centred Care for Mental Health Conditions and Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), also discovered that depression can lead to a substantially increased risk of coronary heart disease.

There are multiple shared risk factors across NCDs and mental illness, including physical inactivity, unhealthy diet and harmful use of alcohol and tobacco, as well as shared social determinants of health, such as poverty, which exacerbates mental health conditions and NCDs, according to the report.

Delegates in a mental and NCDs seession. The session was organised by United for Global Mental Health at the Fourth Global NCD Alliance Forum in Rwanda’s capital Kigali on February 15, 2025. (Photo by Agnes Kyotalengerire)

Additionally, the same report discovered that people living with severe mental illness, for example, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depressive disorder die up to 15 years prematurely due to chronic physical comorbidities, a new report has revealed.

People living with hypertension are more likely to experience anxiety, and those with comorbid anxiety disorders are more likely to face more severe physical disabilities, according the same report.

The report findings confirm that there is a complex but bidirectional relationship between NCDs and mental health.

The report findings were unveiled during the satellite session: Prioritising Reduction of Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditure for People Living with NCDs and Mental Illness Through Access to Affordable Quality Medicines and Products. The session was organised by United for Global Mental Health at the Fourth Global NCD Alliance Forum in Rwanda’s capital Kigali on February 15, 2025.

Glaring gaps

Many people living with mental health conditions and NCDs do not have access to quality integrated care when and where they need it most, noted the child coordinator, Dr. Candia Godwin of Uganda Child Cancer Foundation.

And yet, across the world, NCDs and mental health remain chronically underfunded – where the global finance gap for mental health is over $200 billion annually, Dr, Candia said.

NCDs are the world’s leading cause of premature death, directly contributing to 74% of all deaths globally and 86% of deaths in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). At the same time, mental health conditions are responsible for 1 in every 10 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) worldwide. Despite this, health systems remain fragmented, underfunded, and ill-equipped to provide the comprehensive, people-centred care needed to close the mental health and NCD treatment gap.

Perpetua Omondi from Dynamic Occupational Therapy Limited highlighted the key challenges in the mental health workforce, including workforce overburden, underpayment, limited collaboration, lack of mental health support for caregivers, insufficient technology integration, stigma, and funding gaps.

Key recommendations

Omondi said there is need to improve mental health workforce conditions and services including: accountability and monitoring by ensuring that funding and resources allocated for mental health are properly tracked and used effectively.

Integrated Programs critical for example, strengthening collaboration between mental health professionals and other fields, such as oncology, to address the psychological aspects of illnesses. Initiatives to strengthen the mental health workforce.

Delegates in a mental and NCDs seession. The session was organised by United for Global Mental Health at the Fourth Global NCD Alliance Forum in Rwanda’s capital Kigali on February 15, 2025. (Photo by Agnes Kyotalengerire)

Others include: defining and recognizing the mental health workforce – Clarifying roles and responsibilities to encourage more participation.

Peer support and community engagement including leveraging support groups and community-based interventions. School-Based Programs such as incorporating mental health into school systems to build awareness and resilience early.

Task sharing and task-shifting focusing on expanding responsibilities to trained non-specialists to improve access to care.

Not forgetting, capacity building by providing evidence-based training to ensure quality services, leveraging technology by using digital tools and Word Health Organization (WHO) programs to expand access.

Lastly fostering global Collaboration by creating platforms for mental health professionals to share best practices and improve services worldwide.

The board director of East Africa NCD Alliance, Dr Mary Nyamonyo said next focus is on mental health data by ensuring that high-quality data is available to guide workforce planning and policy decisions.

Dr. Nyamonyo cited the key areas to consider such as reviewing available data on mental health workforce distribution, service access, and patient outcomes.

Identifying data gaps particularly what is missing for example mental health practitioners working in non-traditional roles, underreported needs, service gaps.

She said workforce forecasting should be done by using data to predict workforce demands, ensure adequate staffing, and plan training programs. Plus, leveraging digital health records, surveys, and AI for real-time data tracking.