A study has found that most people with severe mental health problems must go untreated in developing countries. The World Health Organization says between seventy-five and eighty-five percent had not treatment within the past year. In developed nations, between thirty-five and fifty percent went untreated. 

The Journal of the American Medical Association (《美国医学会会刊》) published the findings. Ronald Kessler of Harvard University and Bedirhan Ustun of the WHO led the study. They examined the results of questions asked of more than sixty thousand adults in fourteen countries. 

The most developed nations were Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain and the United States. The less developed ones were Columbia, China, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria and Ukraine. Researchers gathered the information between 2001 and 2003. They asked the same questions in every interview. They wanted to estimate how many people have mental disorders, and what kind. They also wanted to learn what treatment, if any, the people had received within the past year. 

The problems considered included nervous anxiety and uncontrolled anger. Others were such things as eating disorders and disorders related to the use of alcohol and illegal drugs. 

The percentage of people who said they had a mental disorder differed greatly from country to country. The researchers found that for most countries the rate was between nine and twenty percent. The United States had the highest, at twenty-six percent of those questioned. The Chinese city of Shanghai had the lowest, at four percent. 

The researchers say they believe this difference shows how mental health is seen differently around the world. They say people in many non-Western countries are often less likely to admit they have problems. 

The researchers call for new efforts at early intervention. They say early treatment of minor disorders could prevent many serious cases later. 

辅助阅读： 一项研究发现，在发展中国家，患有严重的精神疾病的人多数没有得到治疗。

世界卫生组织说，在发展中国家有75-85%的精神疾病患者没有得到治疗，而在发达国家有35-40%的精神疾病患者没有得到治疗。其中，发达国家包括比利时、法国、德国、意大利、日本、荷兰、西班牙和美国，不发达国家包括哥伦比亚、中国、黎巴嫩、墨西哥、尼日利亚和乌克兰。

研究人员调查的问题包括精神焦虑、生气失控、饮食失调及与摄入酒精或违禁药物有关的失调疾患等。

研究者说，世界上不同国家的人们对精神疾病持有不同的态度。非西方国家的人通常不大承认自己有心理问题。

研究者呼吁人们在早期治疗上做更多的努力，因为轻度精神疾病的早期治疗可以防止后期许多严重病症的发生。