Early-onset mental health disorders increase risk of poor education attainment

MedWire News: People who develop mental health disorders in childhood or adolescence are less likely to complete their education than mentally healthy people, irrespective of whether patients live in high- or middle- and low-income countries, research shows.

A small number of previous studies have indicated that the early-onset of mental health disorders may increase the risk of early termination of education, which has consequences for living standards, social mobility and other aspects of later life.

However, Dr Sing Lee (Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong, China) and team explain that “to date, studies of mental disorders and subsequent educational attainment have been limited to the USA and New Zealand.”

To investigate further, the researchers studied data from the World Mental Health Survey Initiative, which is a World Health Organization project that aims to obtain accurate cross-national information about the prevalence, risk factors, impairment, pattern of treatment and societal cost of mental disorders in both high-income and low- and middle-income countries.

Data from a total of 41,688 individuals with and without diagnosed mental health disorders from nine high-income and seven low- and middle-income countries were included in the analysis.

The researchers found that, overall, respondents who developed one or more mental health disorders of any type in childhood or adolescence were around 1.3 times more likely not to complete their secondary of tertiary education than mentally healthy respondents.

In high income countries, disorders associated with the greatest risk of premature termination of secondary education included drug abuse and dependence disorders and conduct disorders, followed by mood disorders and anxiety disorders. Mental health conditions associated with the greatest likelihood of not completing tertiary education included impulse control and substance use disorders, followed by bipolar disorder.

In low- and middle-income countries, drug dependence and conduct disorders were similarly associated with the greatest risk of not completing secondary education, followed by bipolar disorder, oppositional defiant disorder and alcohol abuse. Among those who entered tertiary education in such countries, no disorder was significantly associated with non-completion of education.

Writing in the British Journal of Psychiatry, Dr Lee and team summarise: “Onset of mental disorder and subsequent non-completion of education are consistently associated in both high-income and low- and middle-income countries countries.”

They conclude: “Our findings suggest that few countries, whether they be high-income or low- and middle-income, can afford to forgo the opportunity to develop early interventions and treatments for mental disorders in order to minimize their costly burden for society and vulnerable citizens.”