Article: Mental health: The invisible effects of neglected tropical diseases

"The devastating effect that lymphatic filariasis and its associated stigma have had on Jidda’s life is common among people with neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). These conditions are caused by a range of pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, fungi and toxins. They are united by the fact that they affect some of the poorest people on the planet and receive relatively little global attention. Most NTDs do not kill people, but many do cause severe scarring and disability, and numerous studies have demonstrated links between various NTDs and mental health. The full mental-health burden of NTDs, however, is unknown. “If you speak to any clinician, they’ll say this is a massive issue. We see it every time someone walks into our clinic and they’ve lost their job, or their husband, or had stones thrown at them by children,” says Julian Eaton, a psychiatrist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. “But the research is really underinvested in at the moment.”"

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02973-z

 

"In 2012, a review by David Molyneux, a parasitologist at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), UK, and his colleagues, attempted to draw attention to the relationship between these diseases and mental health1. The researchers pointed to multiple studies showing higher rates of depression and anxiety among people with NTDs than among the general population, and concluded that the most significant factor driving this was stigma. A comprehensive review published a decade later2, in which Eaton and his colleagues compiled evidence on the stigma and mental-health effects associated with most NTDs, confirmed this. What remains unclear, however, is the extent of the problem."