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According to this article,

Mental disorders affect one in four people

One in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives

But this statistics doesnt tell us how many people is having a mental disorder in the world right now. I would like to know this to be able to compare worldwide mental disorder statistics with regional mental disorder statistics or with statitics for people living in certain conditions, many times this statistics show how many people is having a mental disorder in the moment the statistics is made (not once in their lives) How many people have a mental disorder in the world at a same certain moment?

Note: I would like to use the tag "mental disorders" but it doesnt exist and I dont have the reputation to create it.

Pablo
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  • Although it sounds simple, this sort of question is probably not answerable. – Bryan Krause Jan 29 '19 at 19:31
  • Just to clarify, do you mean you are confident these statistics arent being made by countries so there is no way to collect the data by WHO or any other organization, or do you mean you know WHO stastitics like the one presented above arent trustworthy? – Pablo Jan 29 '19 at 19:41
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    I mean that it's a hard question to ask. You can probably find information for some specific conditions, but its unlikely any study is going to assess every single one and then you have to figure out what the overlap is as well. Additionally, surveys are going to be hard to administer equally to a population including individuals suffering from acute mental health issues, and it's also hard to define. Is someone medicated for depression currently experiencing depression? Unclear, depends on your definition. It's a lot easier to say that they have been affected at some point. – Bryan Krause Jan 29 '19 at 19:44
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    Actually, your source itself says 450 million currently suffering in the very next line, so despite my skepticism it seems like they have tried to estimate it, but then I wonder why you are asking the question here. Personally, I suspect 1/4 lifetime is likely to be a serious underestimate, but it all depends on how you define "affected by a mental or neurological disorder." – Bryan Krause Jan 29 '19 at 19:45
  • @bryan krause I've seen statistics for how many people of certain groups are experiencing any mental disorder right now, should I consider them untrustworthy? Honest question, you are the neuroscientist – Pablo Jan 29 '19 at 19:48
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    I think for a general idea you can take the 450 million number from the WHO to be sufficiently accurate. My honest opinion is not that these statistics are untrustworthy, but rather that interpreting them requires nuance. That number doesn't tell you much without context. WHO is just using it to make clear how limited resources are for mental health. For that purpose, it's fine. – Bryan Krause Jan 29 '19 at 19:58

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