This study estimates global direct spending on healthcare services in a subset of common brain disorders.

The 25 brain disorders included within the study encompass mental health disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, and neurological disorders. Evidence from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study shows that brain disorders accounted for almost 20% of the global disease burden for in 2021. Brain disorders are a significant contributor to the overall global health burden, and direct spending on brain health contributes to an additional economic burden for societies.

We estimated direct spending for 25 brain disorders across 204 countries between 2000 and 2019, at the level of care service provided. We used disease prevalence and incidence from the GBD 2021 study, relative price of care estimates from the IHME Disease Expenditure Project, and type of care- and country-specific adjustment factors were used to insure internal consistency with estimates from the National Health Accounts. A hierarchical linear regression was also utilized to incorporate microdata from available literature.  All cost estimates were adjusted to 2021 US dollars.  

Our estimates show that direct healthcare expenditure on the 25 brain disorders was $1.84 trillion globally and $730 billion in the US in 2019, with annual growth rates of 4% and 3.8% respectively since 2000. Further global analysis show that inpatient care is the most expensive care services for individuals diagnosed with brain disorders, globally. However, the costs of care services vary by disorder, suggesting needs for services may be subjective to a given brain disorder.

Our estimates highlight the substantial economic burden of brain disorders globally, and in the US. The rising cost of the economic burden associated with brain health could be reduced by increasing our understanding of the interconnected care needs of specific brain disorders.