Importance of Psychiatric Research

Professor David Porteous explains that psychiatric disorders are a major problem worldwide and badly in need of major research funding.

Well I think research for clinical disorders in general is important but for psychiatric illnesses it's particularly important. We've seen huge advances made in the areas, for example, of cancer research and heart disease but relatively little funding and relatively little progress as a consequence in the areas of major mental illness. But if you look at statistics, and if you look at the World Health Organization lists of the major causes of disability worldwide, not just in the developed world but worldwide, you'll find that clinical depression is number one. You'll see in the top ten also schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder, and also obsessive compulsive disorder. So that gives a measure of just why it's so important because these are conditions that lead to terrible disability for the individuals living with the conditions and of course their family members and society as a whole.