Overview

• Across Europe, about one in five adults reports symptoms of depression or anxiety, yet over two thirds of those needing help do not receive care, with higher rates among women and socially or medically vulnerable groups.
• The OECD estimates mental disorders cost the EU more than 4% of GDP, about €600 billion per year, reflecting health spending, welfare outlays and lost productivity.
• Italy’s health institute reports rising psychiatric hospital admissions and more emergency‑department consultations from 2021 to 2023, alongside fewer telemedicine services, declining visits and persistent staffing shortfalls.
• WHO and UNICEF data indicate that over half of mental disorders begin before 14 and four in five before 19, with roughly one in seven adolescents worldwide affected; in Italy an estimated one in five minors has a neuropsychiatric disorder.
• A WHO Europe survey finds about 30% of doctors and nurses report depressive episodes and 10% have had thoughts that it would have been better if they were dead, with long hours, precarious contracts and workplace violence contributing to distress.