Harsh reality: every third resident of the Russian Federation is mentally ill

It's no secret that every year the number of mentally ill people around the world is growing. The Russian Federation is no exception. The most common ailment among Russians is neurosis, and most people with unstable mentality, for some reason, live in Siberia. Journalists of the Internet portal Lenta.ru We met with Boris Kazakovtsev, the head of the Department of Epidemiological and Organizational Problems of the Serbsky Center, who told a lot of interesting things about the problem.

Dr. Kazakovtsev, who has solid experience in the field of psychiatry, is sure that about a third of Russians have mental abnormalities to one degree or another. Moreover, from 3-6% of the country's residents have a need for systematic psychiatric care, which means they must be registered with psychiatrists.

The most common mental ailments in Russia are disorders of a non-psychotic nature, that is, neuroses. Immediately after them in terms of "popularity", there are various psychoses and conditions, one way or another related to dementia — there are 1,097,909 such patients in the Russian Federation. Next comes schizophrenia and mental retardation, which is observed in 862,176 people. A mild form of mental retardation is much more common, but there are no accurate statistics on it today, alas.

Boris Kazakovtsev also told how age affects the risk of certain mental illnesses. According to the information available to him, young people aged 18 to 35 years are most susceptible to such ailments. The most common among young people are neuroses, schizophrenia and depressive states. Older people are characterized by Alzheimer's disease and dementia. The doctor clarified that this trend is common for the whole world, and not only for Russia.

There is also a fairly detailed statistics of mental illness by region. For example, there are 96.6 cases of depression per 100,000 Siberians. For central Russia, this figure is slightly lower — only 87.1 cases. There are already 73.1 cases in the Southern Federal District, and 34.9 cases at all in the North Caucasus. As we can see, Caucasians are the most stress-resistant citizens of the country.

But the residents of the Center are more predisposed to schizophrenia — for 100 thousand Russians in this part of the country, there are 370.9 patients. The Siberian Federal District is somewhat behind with its 343.1 per 100 thousand inhabitants, and the North Caucasus closes the list, as you may have guessed. Boris Kazakovtsev found it difficult to tell journalists the reasons for such an unusual distribution of mental illnesses, since special studies of the geography of diseases have never been conducted in the country.

Separately, the doctor noted the fact that the difference in the number of mentally ill people in large cities and provinces is gradually disappearing. A few decades ago it was huge, but today, in places, it is practically absent. The urban way of life is moving into the province — the process of urbanization is taking place rapidly. The North Caucasus, on the contrary, is moving towards a patriarchal way of life, which is why there is such a statistical difference.

A specialist from the Serbsky Center told in detail about the most widespread disorders — non-psychotic. What distinguishes them is that the person himself understands that something is wrong with him. At the same time, it is possible that he will consult a doctor on his own. Obsessive states, various kinds of phobias, stress and panic states — the list can be continued for a long time. 10% of Russians suffer from depression, which also refers to non-psychotic disorders.

There are many reasons for the increase in the number of non-psychotic diseases. Of the most significant, it is worth mentioning heredity, unfavorable environmental conditions, psychogenic factors. It is also impossible to discount mental and physical injuries, such as traumatic brain injuries, as well as those that led to disability.

A separate conversation is about migrants. All over the world, the proportion of people who have had to change their place of residence is constantly increasing. It has already been proven that the more stable the composition of the population, the less depression and other non-psychotic disorders. Separation from family, domestic disorder in a new place, problems with employment - all this affects the mental state of people. Perhaps because of this, the percentage of depressions in Siberia is so high — this part of Russia is still being subdued and people there live in less comfortable conditions than in the Central Federal District.

When asked whether there is a national predisposition to certain mental illnesses, Dr. Kazakovtsev said that in Russia, where 90% of the population are Slavs, it is difficult to determine how pathologies develop by nationality. Although the emotional component, the so-called "Russian soul", in his opinion, has some influence.