New Headway Report highlights social impact of eco-anxiety, an emerging pre-traumatic mental health disorder

- Key findings of the report highlight the ongoing toll that multiple parallel crises have on mental health in Europe, emphasizing the urgent need for individuals, communities, societies, and policymakers to improve mental well-being across the continent and foster a healthier and more resilient society for current and future generations

- Eco-anxiety, a pre-traumatic stress disorder where mental health issues related to impending traumatic events are felt in advance is spreading especially among young generations, leading to increased stress levels, despair, and feelings of helplessness

Empirical evidence shows a direct link between fear of global warming or exposure to extreme weather events and mental health disorders

Brussels, October 25, 2023 – Eco-anxiety, characterized by a pervasive fear of climate change and its consequences, has emerged as a significant concern for mental health, particularly among young people. New research presented at the European Parliament today by The European House – Ambrosetti, an Italian Think Tank, together with Angelini Pharma, an international pharmaceutical company which is part of the privately-owned Angelini Industries, showed more and more citizens across the continent are suffering from a pervasive fear of climate change and its consequences.

For the first time since the Headway initiative was launched in 2017, the “Headway - Mental Health Index 3.0” report specifically reviewed eco-anxiety as a new key factor. Created as part of an initiative aimed at addressing important issues in mental health across Europe, this composite index compares mental health among the EU-27 countries and the UK using 54 key performance indicators. This comprises three macro-areas: the determinants of mental health, the mental health status of a population and the responsiveness of national health systems to people’s needs relating to healthcare, workplaces, schools and society in general.

The report shows that, on average, more than one third of Europeans (37%) feel exposed to climate change-related threats. In countries where the effects of climate change are already tangible through extreme weather events, such as Italy, Spain and Greece – part of the so-called Mediterranean hotspot, one of the fastest-warming regions on earth – the impact on mental health may be even stronger. Defined as a pre-traumatic stress disorder, most forms of eco-anxiety are non-clinical but can contribute to and worsen pre-existing mental health conditions.

Beyond eco-anxiety, the report points to a number of parallel crises that are impacting people’s mental health. Geopolitical conflicts, social tensions, and the cost-of-living crisis have affected the daily lives of millions of Europeans, with 62% of Europeans reporting to be affected by the current polycrisis. In particular, young individuals emerge as a notably vulnerable group. According to the report's findings, approximately 20% of children experience mental health problems during their school years, and one in five report unhappiness and anxiety about the future due to loneliness, bullying and challenges with schoolwork. Additionally, 45% of those aged 16 to 25 reporting daily anxiety and distress associated with eco-anxiety.

“While mental health disorders can affect anyone regardless of nationality, socio-economic background, gender or ethnicity, young people and other vulnerable populations may experience disproportionate levels of distress and need greater levels of support,” said Maria Walsh, Member of the European Parliament for the Midlands-North-West constituency. “Incorporating tailored policy and healthcare interventions that offer comprehensive mental health support for the unique challenges faced by these individuals, some of which we are already seeing across certain Member States, could help address mental health disorders as they arise and ensure appropriate support and treatment are provided.”

By providing an overview of mental health in Europe, based on a wide range of information collected and analyzed, the "Headway - Mental Health Index” can also serve as a barometer of each country's ability to produce effective and comparable databases. Headway, in this sense, continues to highlight structural differences and limitations between different databases and health and social care systems, advocating for higher comparability in order to better understand the current mental health status of the population across different European countries and how they respond to the mental health needs.

With this in mind, there are significant differences in how mental health issues are triaged across the surveyed countries, and the report indicates higher or lower scores based on responsiveness across workplaces, schools and overarching society. Ranking at the top in the metrics used for the Headway report were Denmark, Sweden and Finland while Slovakia, Greece and Croatia tended to have lower scores. Importantly, a decrease in a country's score does not necessarily mean its mental health services have worsened but might rather indicate other countries have improved relatively faster.

“During this last year, the European population has faced the concurrence of economic, social, geopolitical, and environmental crisis factors with significant impact on people’s mental health,” said Elisa Milani, Project Coordinator and Consultant, Healthcare Area at The European House – Ambrosetti. “In this scenario, the updated Headway Mental Health Index, now in its third edition, continues to represent a useful tool for the monitoring and planning for healthcare, welfare, education, and environmental policies in mental health across European countries. In this post-pandemic era that has been named a polycrisis due to the occurrence of multiple crises and challenges, the adoption of data-driven tools for policymakers is an opportunity to identify the most critical areas, and, consequently, to intervene through a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach aimed at building a more equitable and resilient society overall.”

“The recent launch of the European Commission’s EU Mental Health Strategy focused on prevention, access to care and reintegration into society. It is an encouraging example of the growing awareness among national governments, academia, the healthcare industry and other stakeholders that more comprehensive support is needed to address the unprecedented rise of mental health issues across Europe,” said Jacopo Andreose, Chief Executive Officer at Angelini Pharma. “We are grateful to the European Parliament and our partner, The European House – Ambrosetti, for continuing to support and engage with research like the Headway report and look forward to ongoing dialogue, paradigm shifting and best-practice sharing around this more complete picture of mental health across Europe.”

To learn more about “Headway: A New Roadmap in Mental Health” or to download the full report, please visit: https://healthcare.ambrosetti.eu/it/incontri/view/12938.

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About Headway

The Headway initiative addresses important issues in brain and mental health across Europe. Launched in 2017 by The European House – Ambrosetti, an Italian Think Tank, in partnership with Angelini Pharma, part of the privately owned Angelini Industries, the initiative has the aim of creating a multidisciplinary platform for strategic reflection, analysis, dialogue and comparison between various European experiences in the management of individuals affected by mental disorders.

Since its inception, the Headway initiative has grown to include several studies, reports and activities dedicated to advancing discussions around the mental health services and management needed for patients living with these disorders across Europe.

“Headway: A New Roadmap in Mental Health” is the latest addition to the Headway initiative and provides for a dynamic and more complete picture of the effects of health, social, employment, educational and environmental policy interventions on the mental health status of the population across Europe.

About Angelini Pharma

Angelini Pharma is an international pharmaceutical company and part of the privately owned multi-business Angelini Industries. The Company researches, develops and commercializes health solutions with a focus on the areas of Brain Health, including Mental Health and Epilepsy, and Consumer Health. Founded in Italy at the beginning of the 20th century, Angelini Pharma operates directly in 20 countries, employing more than 3,000 people. Its products are marketed in over 70 countries through strategic alliances with leading international pharmaceutical groups. For more information about Angelini Pharma please visit https://www.angelinipharma.com.

About Angelini Industries

Angelini Industries is a multinational industrial group founded in Ancona in 1919 by Francesco Angelini. Today, Angelini Industries represents a solid and diversified industrial reality that employs approximately 5,800 employees and operates in 21 countries around the world with revenues of over 2 billion euros, generated in the health, industrial technology, and consumer goods sectors. A targeted investment strategy for growth; constant commitment to research and development; deep knowledge of markets and business sectors, make Angelini Industries one of the Italian companies of excellence in the sectors in which it operates. To learn more visit https://www.angeliniindustries.com/www.angeliniindustries.com.

About The European House – Ambrosetti

The European House - Ambrosetti is a professional Group, with 300 professionals, operating since 1965, which has grown significantly over the years, thanks also to the contributions of many of its partners, developing numerous activities in Italy, Europe and the rest of the world. Since 2013, The European House – Ambrosetti has been named — in the category Best Private Think Tanks — the no. 1 think tank in Italy, the no. 4 think tank in the European Union and among the most respected independents in the world out of 11,175 on a global level (source: “Global Go To Think Tanks Report” of the University of Pennsylvania). The European House - Ambrosetti was recognized by Top Employers Institute as one of the 141 Top Employers 2023 in Italy. The European House - Ambrosetti has specific expertise in the healthcare sector with a dedicated professional practice, which for over 20 years has been developing different types of projects for all the players - both public and private - in the health ecosystem of health. For more information, please visit www.ambrosetti.eu and follow on twitter.com/Ambrosetti.

Media Contacts

Angelini Pharma

Daniela Poggio
Global Communications Executive Director
daniela.poggio@angelinipharma.com

+39 3486558882

The European House – Ambrosetti
Elisa Milani
Project Coordinator and Consultant, Healthcare Area
elisa.milani@ambrosetti.eu

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