World Mental Health Day 2025: Co-existing epidemic of TB and Mental Health
World Mental Health Day, initiated by World Federation for Mental Health in 1992, serves as a powerful reminder that there is no health without mental health. October 10, 2025, marks World Mental Health Day, focuses on the urgent need to bridge the gap between physical and mental well-being, especially for people affected by chronic conditions like tuberculosis (TB), where the burden of suffering is often doubled. Over the past few years, the intersection of TB and mental health has gained momentum, and new evidence and guidelines are pushing the field forward.
The evidence of worsening mental health due to TB is emerging. A recent study found that, TB patients with high perceived TB stigma and who had been sick for over six months were 3.1 times more likely to experience anxiety symptoms compared to the general population. Among TB survivors, the risk of developing depression is also elevated- a large cohort in Korea reported a 20 % higher risk of depression in people with a history of TB compared to matched controls. In another 2025 study, authors reported that TB negatively impacts quality of life across physical, mental, and social domains, including post-treatment. These evidence highlights the need for integrated mental and physical healthcare and rehabilitation during TB treatment and emphasize that mental health is not an optional add-on, but a central component of comprehensive TB care.
Experts like Dr. Bornali Datta, in her YouTube video “Talking TB with Experts: TB & Mental Health,” echoes this “…tuberculosis and mental health almost exist like a co-epidemic… almost like TB and HIV for example, except that we don't recognize it, we don't acknowledge it and we don't address it either… so it is important for us to be very aware that a patient can get into a vicious cycle because of this existence coexistence of tuberculosis and mental health illness”.
To address comorbidities like worsening mental health with existing TB, In April 2024, WHO published its Consolidated Guidelines on Tuberculosis: Module 6, Tuberculosis and Comorbidities, which includes a new section on key TB comorbidities or health-related risk factors such as mental health. These modules are part of a broader WHO Operational Handbook for TB, which aims to support countries in scaling up people-centred care integrating mental health services. Beyond TB programs, in March 2025 WHO rolled out updated global mental health guidance, reinforcing that mental health is a human right and pushing for reforms in policies, workforce, and service organization. Private healthcare providers have long highlighted this issue.
For example, Dr. Bornali Datta, in her video “Talking TB with Experts: TB & Mental Health,” stated: “…it is our job to help patients address their mental health illness because if we don't then who will.” The convergence of TB and mental health signals a shift, health systems are now being called to treat mental health not as a silo, but as part of comprehensive, person-centred care.