(ANSA) - ROME, OCTOBER 09 - People who suffer from depressive symptoms are mainly women, over 50 years of age and with financial difficulties.
Of these, just over half (61%) seek the help of someone.
And the discomfort often increases with age: one in 5 of over 65s, in fact, declares little or no satisfaction with their life, a percentage that triples among those who perceive their state of health as bad.
These numbers emerged from the 2016-19 Steps Surveillance System, edited by the National Institute of Health (Iss), published on the occasion of the World Mental Health Day, which is celebrated on 10 October.
The pandemic, with the necessary containment measures and the major problems of taking charge by the local services, is having an impact on mental illness and has been addressed by the experts.
To verify whether and how patients have been offered continuity of care, the ISS is launching, together with the Ministry of Health and the main scientific psychiatry societies, a fact-finding survey on the functioning of mental health services since the beginning of epidemic.
Several initiatives have been organized for the World Mental Health Day.
Among these, on Saturday 10 October, an event will take place in Rome, at the shooting club, an event to raise awareness of the contribution of sport to the rehabilitation of people with psychiatric disorders.
The event is part of the activities of the Sphere project funded by the European community and will end with a friendly match between the Italian National Crazy For Football team (made up of boys being treated for mental illness in local structures) and the Football and Solidarity Journalists Association Rai.
(HANDLE).