Disability and treatment of psychiatric and physical disorders in South Africa

We aimed to compare disability rates associated with physical disorders versus psychiatric disorders and to establish treatment rates of both classes of disorder in the South African population. In a nationally representative survey of 4351 adults, treatment and prevalence rates of a range of physical and psychiatric disorders, and their associated morbidity during the previous 12 months were investigated. Physical illnesses were reported in 55.2% of the sample, 60.4% of whom received treatment for their disorder. Approximately 10% of the samples show a mental illness with 6.1% having received treatment for their disorder. The prevalence of any mental illness reported was higher than that reported individually for asthma, cancer, diabetes, and peptic ulcer. Mental disorders were consistently reported to be more disabling than physical disorders and the degree of disability increased as the number of comorbid disorders increased. Depression, in particular, was rated consistently higher across all domains than all physical disorders. Despite high rates of mental disorders and associated disability in South Africa, they are less likely to be treated than physical disorders.