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Vienna (pte040/17.06.2003/14:58) - "24 million people in the world suffer from schitzophrenia, ten to 20 million try to kill themselves and one million people actually commit suicide each year," said Egyptian psychiatrist and president of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) http://www.wpanet.org/principal.html Ahmed Okasha just days before the international WPA Congress in Vienna.
From 19 to 22 June Okasha and other psychiatrists will be meeting in Vienna to discuss developments, and in particular the problem of diagnosing mental illness.
The question of the boundary between "normal" and mentally ill, as well as the whether there are "typically female" and "typically male" illnesses, will become an important focus of the congress.
"Depression and psychoses can't be seen on x-rays or blood tests," said Wolfgang Fleischhacker, director of the Clinical Department of Biological Psychiatry at the University of Innsbruck, pointing out the difficulties he and his colleagues face. According to him, this distinguishes Psychiatry from other medical professions. Fleischhacker is also president of the Austrian Association of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (OeGPP).
Fleischhacker further thinks that the stigma faced by people with mental illness is reflected in the amount of state funding for the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness, and WPA president Okasha also believes financing must improve. "The adequate treatment of people with mental illness does not have the priority it should in light of the number of those who are ill. 33 per cent of states devote less than one per cent of their total health budget to mental illness, another third manages to devote a full one per cent," said Okasha.
Another problem pointed out by psychiatrists is the prevalence of so-called "sub-clinical disorders" - mental illnesses with little clinical significance that nevertheless have an impact on the lives of the sufferers.
"Depressive symptoms in various combinations, including sub-clinical disorders, affect nearly a fourth of the population," said Ahmend Okasha. He believes more research is necessary to understand these disorders and to distinguish between the "normal", "sub-clinical" and "clinical". Okasha believes the earlier a sound diagnosis is made, the better.
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