Year-on-Year Growth in Mental Health Consultations Across Cities
Written by Shaveta Arora, Arushi Sharma
A recent study has revealed a significant year-on-year increase in mental health consultations across cities, underscoring the growing importance of mental well-being in modern society.
Practo's insights into India's mental health trends reveal that health consultations have increased by 29 percent, with men seeking 67 percent of consultations and women seeking 33 percent.
In FY23, Delhi led the list with 35% of consultations, followed by Bengaluru at 19%, Mumbai at 11%, Hyderabad at 10%, and Chennai and Pune at 8% each, with the remaining 9% coming from the rest of India.
Consultations in various cities across India have shown a year-on-year growth, with Hyderabad leading at 51%, followed by Mumbai at 45%, Pune at 35%, Delhi at 34%, Chennai at 30%, and Bengaluru at 23%.
The 25-34 age group significantly contributed to raising mental health awareness, accounting for 55% of total consultations, followed by the 35-44 age group (26%), 18-24 age group (9%), 45-54 age group (6%), and 55-64 and below 18 age groups (2%).
Searches encompassed topics like behavior, drug abuse, schizophrenia, panic, and de-addiction. Notably, Tier 2 cities were the origin of 60 percent of de-addiction queries, and 35 percent of drug abuse queries also had their roots in these cities.
Dr Alexander Kuruvilla, Chief Health Strategy Officer at Practo said, “Patients are seeking help for mental health concerns. Access to healthcare professionals and digital resources encourages mental health care.”
Dr Venkatesh Babu, MD (Psychiatry), a Practo consultant mentioned, “Digitization impacts mental health awareness among young minds and the number of individuals seeking help for mental health concerns is increasing.”