60% mental disorders in patients below 35 years in country, says psychiatric society

A majority of mental disorders begin silently during adolescence and early adulthood, long before individuals reach their most productive years, mental health experts warned at the 77th Annual National Conference of the Indian Psychiatric Society (ANCIPS 2026).Presenting Indian data, experts revealed that nearly 60 per cent of mental disorders in the country are diagnosed in people below 35 years. “When 60 per cent of mental disorders are affecting people under 35, it is clear that India’s mental health crisis is unfolding far earlier than we once believed,” said Dr Deepak Raheja, organising secretary of ANCIPS Delhi. He stressed that “early identification, school-and college-based mental health programmes and destigmatisation are no longer optional but essential.”Citing global and Indian research, psychiatrists said the median age of onset for mental illness lies between 19 and 20. Referring to a large international study published in Molecular Psychiatry that tracked over seven lakh individuals, experts noted that 34.6 per cent of mental disorders begin before the age of 14, nearly 48.4 per cent before 18, and 62.5 per cent by the age of 25. “For most patients, mental illness starts well before adulthood, quietly influencing education, careers, relationships and overall quality of life,” experts said.By the age of 25, most cases of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety disorders and eating disorders have already emerged, while depression, substance use disorders and behavioural addictions are now being reported at increasingly younger ages. The Indian Psychiatric Society cautioned that when such conditions remain untreated, these often become chronic, leading to long-term disability and high social and economic costs.