Big increase in psychiatric disorders: Trimbos Institute

The number of adults in the Netherlands with a mental health disorder increased alarmingly in the past twelve years, the Trimbos Institute found in its Nemesis 3 study. In 2009, the Netherlands counted 1.9 million adults with mental health disorders. Now there are 3.3 million.

The Nemesis studies are large-scale population studies into mental health, which the Trimbos Institute does every 12 years or so. Over the past three years, Trimbos researchers interviewed 6,200 Netherlands residents about their mental health.

According to the Trimbos Institute, 26 Netherlands residents have a mental illness, compared to 18 percent in 2009. Young adults, especially students, most often struggle with anxiety disorders, depression, and other mental health problems - 44 percent, compared to 22 percent in 2009.

This is the most significant increase in mental health disorders Trimbos has yet recorded. More people now also have more than one disorder at the same time. Over a lifetime, 48 percent of adults experienced mental illness at some point.

Psychology professor Pim Cuijpers is shocked by the “enormous increase,” calling it disturbing. “All the more so because the clinical interviews used by the Trimbos Institute are regarded as the gold standard in research and are very reliable. With these figures, the Netherlands is well out of step with other countries. It is important to find out what is causing this,” he said to Trouw.

One possible explanation is that young people in the Netherlands are more willing to admit that their mental health is struggling, he said. “That could affect the trend. In countries where there is a high stigma on mental health disorders, you see that the figures are generally low.”

Remarkably, one thing that did not play a role in the increased mental illness is the coronavirus pandemic, according to the researchers. The spike was already visible in the 1,500 interviews conducted before the pandemic.