K4.12 Recipients of medication for mental disorders

Proportion of recipients of medication for the treatment of mental disorders

The field of mental health is one of the main public health problems at the level of the European Union (EU), since more than a tenth of Europeans suffer from any mental disorder every year. According to forecasts, by 2020, mental illness will be the second most common disease worldwide. The burden of mental illness is a great loss and strain on the individual, family, economic, social, educational, and criminal and judicial systems. When mental problems occur, not only the individual is affected, but also his immediate and wider social community. Mental problems are a signal and an expression of people's socio-economic hardships. Suicide is also a common outcome of mental illness. Slovenia has one of the highest suicide rates in the EU, and the most common mental disorders among the general population are depression and anxiety, just like in other developed countries. The most common reason for hospital treatment is schizophrenia, due to which, compared to other mental illnesses, patients are hospitalized for the longest time. Harmful use of alcohol and drug addiction are also important public health problems in our country.

The priority areas of preventive action are the promotion and promotion of mental health and individual well-being, as well as the fight against the factors responsible for the development of mental illnesses. However, it is also important to address the great stigma associated with mental disorders, which also affects delayed help-seeking and thus subsequent treatment and treatment.

The proportion of recipients of medication for the treatment of mental disorders describes the number of recipients of medication for the treatment of mental disorders per 100 inhabitants in the observed calendar year.

An age-standardized proportion is calculated, which allows mutual comparison of populations with different age structures.

Rate per 100 inhabitants.

The share of recipients of drugs for the treatment of mental disorders is the ratio between the number of persons who received at least one prescription for a drug for the treatment of mental disorders within the observed calendar year and the number of inhabitants in the middle of the same year, multiplied by 100.

In the calculation, drugs from the Anatomical-therapeutic-chemical classification of drugs of the group are taken into account as drugs for the treatment of mental disorders:

• N05: Psycholeptics,
• N06: Psychoanaleptics or
• N07: Other drugs with an effect on the nervous system.

Recipients of medication for a mental disorder

$=\frac{Number of recipients of medication for the treatment of mental disorders}{Number of inhabi\tan ts}\times 100$

The direct standardization method is used for standardization, where the Slovenian population from 2014 is used as the standard population.

Outpatient Prescription Drug Database, National Institute of Public Health

Population, Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia.

Data on drug recipients is published annually.

1. National Institute of Public Health ( http://www.nijz.si/ )
2. Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia ( http://www.stat.si/StatWeb )
3. 2.3. Jeriček Klanšček H et al. Mental health in Slovenia ( http://www.nijz.si/sites/www.nijz.si/files/datoteke/dusevno_zdravje_publikacija.pdf )

Recipients of medication for the treatment of mental disorders do not represent all persons with a mental disorder. If a person with a mental disorder does not seek professional help or does not receive at least one prescription for a drug for the treatment of mental disorders, they are not included in the calculation of the indicator. The drugs involved are used to treat a variety of mental disorders.