Ryan K. McBain, ScD, a health economist in the Center for Integration Science in Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is the lead author of a paper published in The Lancet, “Effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and positive externalities of integrated chronic care for adults with major depressive disorder in Malawi: a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial.”

In lower-income countries, common mental disorders account for more years lived in disability than HIV and malaria combined, yet most of those affected never receive treatment because of the cost. A new study finds that treating people in low-income countries for major depressive disorder can also help improve their physical health and household members’ wellbeing, demonstrating that mental health treatments can be cost effective.

By poring over decades worth of data, researchers hope to better determine how pesticides, metals, and exposures to other elements impact Alzheimer’s disease risk