An article over at Zack Lynch's blog Brain Waves caught my attention recently as the increase in mental illness in Bangkok seems extraordinary.
"the number of mental illness cases in Bangkok soared 900 percent, from 587 per 100,000 to 5,485 in three years, said the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB)"
That really is an astonishing increase. However it begs more questions than it answers. How were these statistics gathered,? Did the methodologies change over the intervening years? Were there any changes in the diagnostic criteria?
I tried to track down the original report but so far have been unsuccessful. It's possible that the full report hasn't been published in English yet, though I did find a report at Xinhuanet that cites the following:
"People with mental health problems has soared 900 percent from 587 per 100,000 to 5,485 in three years, said the government think-tank in a report published by Bangkok Post on Tuesday."
I managed to locate a copy of the original Bangkok Post article archived at the Thai Ministry of Mental Health's site, which reveals a little more detail:
"Of the cases, 40% have mental disorders, 15% experience anxiety and 14% suffer severe depression the NESDB said. The cities mental health statistics compare to a national rate of 3,392 per 100,000." Link.
Intriguingly the Bangkok Post article indicates that the report also notes that of the near 10 million people living in Bangkok, nearly 50% of them suffer from respiratory illness.
Zack notes that "The report declared that changing life styles and increasing pollution were the primary causes of mental illness." but I suspect he's been slightly misled by either the Xinhuanet article or one of its clones as the original Bangkok Post article states:
"Kittisak Sinthuvanich, deputy-secretary of the NESDB, blamed changing lifestyles and pollution for causing the physical and mental illness in Bangkok" (Emphasis mine.)
Though it would of course have been interesting if someone in Sinthuvanich's position had really been explicitly suggesting that pollution was a major cause of mental illness. However it would seem that this discrepancy is literally a slight case of Chinese whispers.
It's clear that the Thai authorities recognise Bangkok as a special case, as in general their mental health statistics exclude Bangkok, presumably to avoid skewing of their observations. On the Department of Mental Health's site in their "Relevant Data on Mental Health Disorders" section, they indicate that their statistics exclude Bangkok. Which begs the question of what is it exactly that is exacerbating mental health problems in Bangkok and why are they so skewed that they need to be excluded from national statistics?
If anyone finds the full NESDB report I'd love to hear about it.
Image: Bangkok Market Courtesy of seanryan
Currently listening to : You're Beautiful from Back to Bedlam, James Blunt
12:48:19 AM 
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