BOMBSHELL – 30% OF ADULT MALAYSIANS SUFFER FROM MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES

CLOSE to one-third of Malaysians suffer from some form of mental health issues, Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad told Parliament today.About 29.2% of adults above the age of 16, or a total of 4.2 million Malaysians, are suffering from mental health issues, which include both clinically-diagnosed illnesses and non-diagnosed conditions, according to a national health and morbidity survey carried out by the ministry in 2015.

Half of those affected, or 2.1 million are women, said Dzulkefly.

Between 2010 to 2017, a total of 57,570 women were treated for mental illness at public hospitals.

He also said that a total of 958 public clinics have screening and intervention programmes, including antenatal screening for expecting mothers to prevent postpartum depression.

Dzulkefly said that social stigma regarding mental illness is still high and urged all parties involved in public health services to work together “to create an eco-system to provide support” for those suffering from mental health issues. – July 31, 2018.

– https://www.themalaysianinsight.com