Women and children hit hardest by mental health disorders during the pandemic: Headway 2023 Mental Health Index

The report also sheds light on the impact of mental health disorders on children, revealing a possible association between mental illnesses and school dropouts with 1 in 3 adolescents who drop out of school also experiencing a mental disorder.

The Index is a multidimensional picture conducted in countries in the European Union and the UK as part of the Headway 2023, an initiative on Mental Health conceived and launched by The European House - Ambrosetti, a think tank, in partnership with Angelini Pharma. Headway 2023 is designed as a multidisciplinary platform for knowledge-exchange to prevent, diagnose, manage and find innovative solutions to reduce the burden of mental health and the associated stigma at the European and local level.

Chief Executive Officer, Angelini Pharma, Pierluigi Antonelli said, “The COVID-19 recovery efforts provide a crucial opportunity to improve Europe’s mental health services and policies by putting brain health at the top of the European Public health agenda. The Headway 2023 Mental Health Index offers the first ever comprehensive overview of the state of mental health systems in Europe. The report highlights the rate of mental illness among people in working-age and the urgent need also for employers to establish appropriate systems for responding to the mental health needs. Angelini Group, thanks also to the strong commitment of our shareholders, provides a psychological helpdesk for all its employees. It is crucial, while we influence external policies, to remain coherent and act responsibly primarily within our organisations”.

“The topic of Mental Health is of crucial importance, knowing that the boundaries of Mental Health go beyond age, gender, social status and provenance and that mental disorders have an important impact not only on individuals and their families, but also on society. Our analysis and the “Headway 2023 – Mental Health Index” take into consideration all these aspects. Our work provides for a multidimensional picture on Mental Health in Europe combining elements and interventions across health, welfare and education policies in European countries and highlights the weaknesses and successes of countries in responding to mental health needs based on a comparison between other European experiences.”, said Daniela Bianco, Partner and Head of the Healthcare Area, The European House – Ambrosetti.

According to recent estimates, 83 percent of women report that the pandemic negatively impacted their mental health compared to 36 percent of men. Pregnant women, women in postpartum period, or those experiencing trauma such as a miscarriage or abuse from intimate partners, were found to be most susceptible to the psychological impacts of the pandemic. The burden of household chores and childcare also had a significant impact on women’s mental well-being with 44 percent of women with children under 12 years of age reported struggling with household responsibilities as compared to just 20 percent men. 

The report also reveals that mental ill-health, especially of the mild-to-moderate kind, affects as much as 20 percent of the working-age population at any given moment in their lives, while 70 percent of the employed population report mild to moderate forms of mental health problems. Mental illness may also have a significant impact on people’s ability to work, limiting their capacity to participate in the labour market.  Employment rates in people with severe mental disorders were found to be as low as 45-55 percent and those in the workforce were found to receive a salary that is 58 percent lower than the average. In general, across Europe, the employment rate of people suffering from depression is very heterogeneous, with rates ranging from 27 percent in Romania to 68 percent in Germany, however episodes of absenteeism and presenteeism are frequent and the cost of losing labour productivity is high (equal to 1.6 percent of European GDP).

As the pandemic continues, healthcare workers’ prolonged exposure to extremely stressful and potentially traumatic situations renders them particularly vulnerable to mental stress and anxiety with long term impact on their health. In Europe, 57 percent healthcare professionals reported post-traumatic stress symptoms during the peak of the pandemic.

The “Headway 2023 - Mental Health Index” also highlights the socio-economic impact of mental health disorders. Recent studies estimate the total cost of mental health disorders, in terms of loss of productivity and health and social care expenditure, is expected to be equivalent to 4 percent of EU GDP. Although mental health has critical socio-economic impact, only up to 5 percent of the total government health expenditure is allocated to mental health across Europe (values ranging from 3 percent in Poland, 3.5 percent in Italy, 4.2 percent in Spain and 5.4 percent in Denmark), with impacts on the availability of infrastructural and human resources dedicated to Mental Health. When it comes to the ability to respond to the mental healthcare needs of society, Countries with higher per capita expenditure for mental health-related disability report greater perceived social support.

In general, from the available data, it emerges that Northern/Central European countries perform better than Eastern countries, however, a widespread scarcity of updated data and possible distortions linked to "misreporting" and "under-reporting" by some countries exists.