Mental and brain disorders affect adults, the elderly, children and adolescents. As the majority of treatments have been traditionally geared to adult patients, large numbers of children go untreated ignoring the need for early intervention in childhood. Some 17 million young people in the 5-17 age group in Latin America and the Caribbean are affected by mental or brain disorders severe enough to require treatment. Mental and brain disorders are a concern for developed and developing countries. In a landmark WHO study of 27 developing and developed countries, no population was found to be free of schizophrenia.
Alcohol abuse is another common disorder that knows no boundaries.
Epilepsy is more frequent in developing countries. An estimated 5 million people in the Americas and Caribbean are affected. Mental and brain disorders are just a figment of one's imagination. They are real illnesses that cause suffering and disability. It's not just friends and family that fail to grasp the existence of a mental disorder.