# Limited scientific coherence between global mental health research and indicators of science, health, mental health, and society: a longitudinal analysis across world regions

## TL;DR

Global mental health research is not consistently aligned with regional health and societal needs, with high-income regions dominating output but low-income regions showing stronger links between research and economic factors.

## Contribution

This study longitudinally analyzes global mental health research output and its coherence with socioeconomic and health indicators across regions.

## Key findings

- Africa and South-East Asia showed strong research-output links with GDP per capita and education despite low publication rates.
- The Americas and Europe, which produce most mental health research, show weak links between output and mental health burden indicators.
- Scientific output does not consistently reflect mental health needs or societal indicators globally.

## Abstract

Global mental health is a growing priority in health and development agendas. However, there is limited evidence on whether scientific research in mental health aligns with the health, societal, and developmental needs of different regions. The aim of this study was to analyze the associations between global mental health research and key indicators in science, health, mental health, and society across world regions.

It was conducted a longitudinal analysis of 386,671 peer-reviewed publications on mental health (1886–2024) using data from five databases. We linked annual publication counts with 60 indicators across four domains (Economy, Development and Education; Global Health; Inequality and Poverty; and Governance and Rights). Associations were evaluated using linear regression models and standardized β₁ coefficients, stratified by World Health Organization regions.

Significant regional differences were observed in both publication volume and coherence with contextual indicators. Africa and South-East Asia, despite lower publication rates (<5%), showed strong associations between research output and gross domestic product per capita (β = 0.125, 95% CI: 0.05–0.19, p < 0.01), average years of schooling (β = 526.05, 95% CI: 30.5–1021.5), and physician density (β = 1,289.6, 95% CI: 322.2–2,257.1). Conversely, the Americas and Europe, which accounted for >75% of publications, showed weaker or non-significant associations with mental health burden indicators such as disability-adjusted life years and suicide mortality.

There is evidence of both alignment and misalignment between global mental health research and global needs. Scientific output does not consistently correspond to indicators of mental health burden or systemic needs.