Depression and other mental health issues reduce the number of productivity-adjusted life years (PALYs) more than musculoskeletal diseases or cardiovascular diseases, according to a recent joint study by the University of Eastern Finland, the Finnish Social Insurance Institution (Kela), and Monash University in Australia. The study was the first to examine the loss of PALYs due to chronic conditions at the population level in Finland. The results were published in Value in Health, a highly regarded journal in health economics.
PALY is a new metric developed at Monash University that allows for the examination of the burden of diseases from the perspective of work and functional capacity. It represents a year in full work and functional capacity in relation to the demands of both work and home life. According to the newly published study, depression and other mental health issues lead to an annual loss of 99,570 PALYs at work and 256,086 PALYs in home and volunteer work among Finns aged 18-79 years.
The significant impact of depression and mental health issues was particularly evident among women aged 18-34 years. Due to musculoskeletal diseases, 67,945 PALYs are lost annually at work and 198,544 in leisure time. Cardiovascular diseases result in a loss of 55,329 and 143,453 PALYs annually.
Other diseases examined in the study included asthma, diabetes, gastrointestinal diseases, migraine and other chronic headaches, and thyroid diseases. In Finland, mental health disorders ha.