An AIIMS expert, on Thursday, warned of a sharp rise in mental health issues in recent years, citing evidence that disorders and related disabilities have nearly doubled over the past few decades.

According to Dr Rajesh Sagar, Professor of Psychiatry at AIIMS, "There is certain evidence where it has been shown that the problems over the last 25 years have doubled in terms of disability and burden. In fact, in the study, which was published in 2020 by the Lancet Psychiatry, which we had published, the burden has doubled in that period of time from 1990 to 2017. I would say that, post-COVID, it has increased again. There has been an upsurge with regard to mental health problems."