Millions of war survivors worldwide suffer from mental illness

Psychologists at Münster University estimate the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression after wars in the total population Wars leave their marks on people - the physical damage is usually obvious, but the scars a war can leave in the psychological well-being of survivors often remain beneath the surface. Psychologists at Münster University have for the first time estimated the absolute numbers showing how many war survivors worldwide suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or depression. The result was, that in 2015, there were about 1.45 billion people who had experienced a war in their own country between 1989 and 2015, about one billion of whom present adults - representing one in five of the world's population. It is estimated that more than 350 million of them suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder or depression, of which about one third suffered from both mental disorders. In addition, most war survivors live in low-to-middle income countries with limited opportunities for intensive and comprehensive treatment of mental disorders. "Our results reveal a major problem. With our approach, we can better assess the current burden of mental disorders in war-affected areas and hope to be able to encourage some practical solutions for treatment," says Thole Hoppen, PhD student in the Work Unit Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at Münster University and first author of the paper.