Mental health in Malaysia

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Studies have indicated a high prevalence of mental disorders among adolescents and adults in Malaysia. [1] For example, a 2015 survey indicated that almost 40% of adults in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur met the criteria for a mental disorder. [2] Furthermore, the prevalence of mental disorders among the Malaysian population was found to have increased three-fold between 1996 and 2015. [2] This has been attributed to rapid cultural and lifestyle changes, which has led to an increased level of perceived stress among Malaysia's population. [1]

Contents

Adolescent mental health

2022 National Health and Morbidity Survey

A 2022 survey conducted by the Ministry of Health indicated that the prevalence of mental disorders, loneliness and suicidal ideation had increased among Malaysian adolescents, compared to when the survey was conducted in prior years. [3]

Depression

26.9% of the adolescents met the criteria for depression. The prevalence of depression was higher among female adolescents than male adolescents, with 36.1% of females experiencing depression, compared to 17.7% of males. [3]

Loneliness

16.2% of adolescents reporting feeling lonely "most of the time or always". The prevalence of loneliness was significantly higher among female adolescents, than male adolescents, with 20.3% of females reporting feeling lonely, compared to 11.6% of males. [3]

Suicide

  • 13.1% of adolescents experienced suicidal ideation (18.5% of females and 7.6% of males) [3]
  • 10% of adolescents made a suicide plan (14.3% of females and 5.7% of males) [3]
  • 9.5% of adolescents attempted suicide (13.4% of females and 5.7% of males) [3]

Adult mental health

A 2015 survey of 29,460 Malaysian adults found that 29.2% of the respondents met the criteria for a mental health disorder. In comparison, 10.7% of Malaysian adults met the criteria for a mental health disorder in 1996. [2]

The prevalence of mental health disorders was 39.8% for adults living in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. [2]

Mental health services

A 2018 study found that Malaysia had ratio of 1.27 psychiatrists per 100 000 people, with the capital Kuala Lumpur having a significantly higher ratio than rural areas. [4]

It is estimated that only 20% of Malaysians with a mental disorder will receive professional treatment. [1] This has been attributed to social stigma about mental illness and a lack of awareness on mental health problems. [1]

Related Research Articles

Gender dysphoria (GD) is the distress a person experiences due to a mismatch between their gender identity—their personal sense of their own gender—and their sex assigned at birth. The term replaced the previous diagnostic label of gender identity disorder (GID) in 2013 with the release of the diagnostic manual DSM-5. The condition was renamed to remove the stigma associated with the term disorder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Self-harm</span> Intentional injury to ones body

Self-harm is intentional behavior that is considered harmful to oneself. This is most commonly regarded as direct injury of one's own skin tissues usually without a suicidal intention. Other terms such as cutting, self-injury, and self-mutilation have been used for any self-harming behavior regardless of suicidal intent. Common forms of self-harm include damaging the skin with a sharp object or by scratching, hitting, or burning. The exact bounds of self-harm are imprecise, but generally exclude tissue damage that occurs as an unintended side-effect of eating disorders or substance abuse, as well as societally acceptable body modification such as tattoos and piercings.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people in the United States from the ages of 9 to 56.

Adjustment disorder is a maladaptive response to a psychosocial stressor. It is classified as a mental disorder. The maladaptive response usually involves otherwise normal emotional and behavioral reactions that manifest more intensely than usual, causing marked distress, preoccupation with the stressor and its consequences, and functional impairment.

There are more than 700,000 estimated suicide deaths every year. Suicide affects every demographic, yet there are some populations that are more impacted than others. For example, among 15–29 year olds, suicide is much more prominent; this being the fourth leading cause of death within this age group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suicidal ideation</span> Thoughts, ideas, or ruminations about the possibility of ending ones life

Suicidal ideation, or suicidal thoughts, is the thought process of having ideas, or ruminations about the possibility of ending one's own life. It is not a diagnosis but is a symptom of some mental disorders, use of certain psychoactive drugs, and can also occur in response to adverse life events without the presence of a mental disorder.

Gender is correlated with the prevalence of certain mental disorders, including depression, anxiety and somatic complaints. For example, women are more likely to be diagnosed with major depression, while men are more likely to be diagnosed with substance abuse and antisocial personality disorder. There are no marked gender differences in the diagnosis rates of disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Men are at risk to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to past violent experiences such as accidents, wars and witnessing death, and women are diagnosed with PTSD at higher rates due to experiences with sexual assault, rape and child sexual abuse. Nonbinary or genderqueer identification describes people who do not identify as either male or female. People who identify as nonbinary or gender queer show increased risk for depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. People who identify as transgender demonstrate increased risk for depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recurrent brief depression</span> Type of depression

Recurrent brief depression (RBD) defines a mental disorder characterized by intermittent depressive episodes, not related to menstrual cycles in women, occurring between approximately 6–12 times per year, over at least one year or more fulfilling the diagnostic criteria for major depressive episodes except for duration in which RBD is less than 14 days. Despite the short duration of the depressive episodes, such episodes are severe, and suicidal ideation and impaired function is rather common. The majority of patients with RBD also report symptoms of anxiety and increased irritability. Hypersomnia is also rather frequent. About 1/2 of patients fulfilling diagnostic criteria for RBD may have additional short episodes of brief hypomania, which is a severity marker of RBD. RBD may be the only mental disorder present, however RBD may also occur as part of a history of recurrent major depressive episodes or bipolar disorders. RBD is also seen among some patients with personality disorders.

Youth suicide is when a young person, generally categorized as someone below the legal age of majority, deliberately ends their own life. Rates of youth suicide and attempted youth suicide in Western societies and other countries are high. Youth suicide attempts are more common among girls, but adolescent males are the ones who usually carry out suicide. Suicide rates in youths have nearly tripled between the 1960s and 1980s. For example, in Australia suicide is second only to motor vehicle accidents as its leading cause of death for people aged 15 to 25.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suicide</span> Intentional act of causing ones own death

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse are risk factors. Some suicides are impulsive acts due to stress, relationship problems, or harassment and bullying. Those who have previously attempted suicide are at a higher risk for future attempts. Effective suicide prevention efforts include limiting access to methods of suicide such as firearms, drugs, and poisons; treating mental disorders and substance abuse; careful media reporting about suicide; improving economic conditions; and dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT). Although crisis hotlines are common resources, their effectiveness has not been well studied.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prevalence of mental disorders</span>

The prevalence of mental disorders has been studied around the world, providing estimates on how common mental disorders are. Different criteria or thresholds of severity have sometimes been used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Depression in childhood and adolescence</span> Pediatric depressive disorders

Major depressive disorder, often simply referred to as depression, is a mental disorder characterized by prolonged unhappiness or irritability. It is accompanied by a constellation of somatic and cognitive signs and symptoms such as fatigue, apathy, sleep problems, loss of appetite, loss of engagement, low self-regard/worthlessness, difficulty concentrating or indecisiveness, or recurrent thoughts of death or suicide.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by difficulty focusing attention, hyperactivity, and impulsive behavior. Treatments generally involve behavioral therapy and/or medications. ADHD is estimated to affect about 6 to 7 percent of people aged 18 and under when diagnosed via the DSM-IV criteria. When diagnosed via the ICD-10 criteria, hyperkinetic disorder gives rates between 1 and 2 percent in this age group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mental health in education</span>

Mental health in education is the impact that mental health has on educational performance. Mental health often viewed as an adult issue, but in fact, almost half of adolescents in the United States are affected by mental disorders, and about 20% of these are categorized as “severe.” Mental health issues can pose a huge problem for students in terms of academic and social success in school. Education systems around the world treat this topic differently, both directly through official policies and indirectly through cultural views on mental health and well-being. These curriculums are in place to effectively identify mental health disorders and treat it using therapy, medication, or other tools of alleviation.

This article explains the positive and negative impacts to adolescents’ exposure to social media.

In colleges and universities in the United States, suicide is one of the most common causes of death among students. Each year, approximately 24,000 college students attempt suicide while 1,100 students succeed in their attempt, making suicide the second-leading cause of death among U.S. college students. Roughly 12% of college students report the occurrence of suicide ideation during their first four years in college, with 2.6% percent reporting persistent suicide ideation. 65% of college students reported that they knew someone who has either attempted or died by suicide, showing that the majority of students on college campuses are exposed to suicide or suicidal attempts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mental health in South Korea</span>

Mental health issues are prevalent in South Korea, with the highest suicide rate in the OECD and the highest rate of hospitalizations for mental illness among OECD countries. South Korea has state-funded mental health services, the majority of which are inpatient hospital facilities, but they are largely underfunded and underutilized. Despite the prevalence of mental illness, social stigma remains prevalent throughout the South Korean population, which discourages sufferers from seeking treatment. Mental illness, while present across all demographic groups, is most common among the elderly and adolescents in South Korea.

Suicide among Native Americans in the United States, both attempted and completed, is more prevalent than in any other racial or ethnic group in the United States. Among American youths specifically, Native American youths also show higher rates of suicide than American youths of other races. Despite making up only 0.9% of the total United States population, American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIANs) are a significantly heterogeneous group, with 560 federally recognized tribes, more than 200 non-federally recognized tribes, more than 300 languages spoken, and one half or more of them living in urban areas. Suicide rates are likewise variable within AIAN communities. Reported rates range from 0 to 150 per 100,000 members of the population for different groups. Native American men are more likely to commit suicide than Native American women, but Native American women show a higher prevalence of suicidal behaviors. Interpersonal relationships, community environment, spirituality, mental healthcare, and alcohol abuse interventions are among subjects of studies about the effectiveness of suicide prevention efforts. David Lester calls attention to the existence and importance of theories of suicide developed by indigenous peoples themselves, and notes that they "can challenge traditional Western theories of suicide." Studies by Olson and Wahab as well as Doll and Brady report that the Indian Health Service has lacked the resources needed to sufficiently address mental health problems in Native American communities. The most complete records of suicide among Native Americans in the United States are reported by the Indian Health Service.

Due to the increased vulnerability that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth face compared to their non-LGBT peers, there are notable differences in the mental and physical health risks tied to the social interactions of LGBT youth compared to the social interactions of heterosexual youth. Youth of the LGBT community experience greater encounters with not only health risks, but also violence and bullying, due to their sexual orientation, self-identification, and lack of support from institutions in society.

Youth suicide in India is when young Indian people deliberately end their own life. People aged 15 to 24 years have the highest suicide rate in India, which is consistent with international trends in youth suicide. 35% of recorded suicides in India occur in this age group. Risk factors and methods of youth suicide differ from those in other age groups.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Raaj, Shaeraine; Navanathan, Sujesha; Tharmaselan, Myelone; Lally, John (November 2021). "Mental disorders in Malaysia: an increase in lifetime prevalence". BJPsych International. 18 (4): 97–99. doi:10.1192/bji.2021.4. ISSN   2056-4740. PMC   8554924 . PMID   34747937.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "National Health & Morbidity Survey 2015. Volume II: Non-Communicable Diseases, Risk Factors & Other Health Problems" (PDF). Ministry of Health Malaysia. 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Adolescent Health Survey 2022" (PDF). Ministry of Health Malaysia. 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  4. Razali, Zul Azlin; Tahir, M. Faiz (June 2018). "The Role of Psychiatrists and Muslim Faith Healers in Mental Health Issues". IIUM Medical Journal Malaysia. 17 (1). doi:10.31436/imjm.v17i1.1037. ISSN   2735-2285.