Mental health problems cost the UK economy at least £117.9 billion annually according to a new report published today by Mental Health Foundation and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
The cost of mental health problems is equivalent to around 5 per cent of the UK’s GDP.
Almost three quarters of the cost (72%) is due to the lost productivity of people living with mental health conditions and costs incurred by unpaid informal carers who take on a great deal of responsibility in providing mental health support in our communities.
Across the UK there were 10.3 million recorded instances of mental ill health over a one-year period, and the third most common cause of disability was depression.
The report, ‘The economic case for investing in the prevention of mental health conditions in the UK’, makes the case for a prevention-based approach to mental health which would both improve mental wellbeing while reducing the economic costs of poor mental health.
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