Urbanization and Mental Health: a New Challenge

Today the mental disorders stand among the leading causes of disease and disability in the world. One in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorder at some point in their lives. World health report 2001(Murthy,2001) which is dedicated to the theme of mental health shows that these disorders are estimated to account for about 12% of global burden of disease and also represent four of the ten leading causes of disability world wide. Despite the major advancements in identifying biological correlation of mental illness in the last few decades the contribution of social factors such as urbanization, poverty and technological change cannot be underestimated. These social changes exert differential effects based on the economic status, sex, race and ethnicity. One of the most striking social change occurring recently has been the process of urbanization worldwide. Between 1950 and 2000 the proportion of urban population in Asia, Africa, and Americas has increased from 16% to more than 50% of the population of these regions {Harphan & Blue, 1995). In India itself it is estimated that by 2003 more than 40% of the population will be living in urban areas. The nature of modern urbanization may have deleterious consequences for mental health through the influence of increased stressors and adverse events such as over crowding, pollution, poverty, slums, dependence on cash economy, rising levels of violence, poor social support etc. { Desjarlais et al., 1995). Approximately half of the urban population in countries like ours live in poverty and a large proportion of this population HEALTH: A NEW CHALLENGE