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©The Author(s) 2026. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Jan 19, 2026; 16(1): 108360
Published online Jan 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v16.i1.108360
Published online Jan 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v16.i1.108360
Gender and common mental disorders: A perspective from India
Vibha K V, Luke Joshua Salazar, Krishnamachari Srinivasan, Department of Psychiatry, St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore 560034, Karnātaka, India
Swati Chandramouli, Department of Psychiatry, Ramaiah Medical College, Bangalore 560054, Karnātaka, India
Co-first authors: Vibha K V and Swati Chandramouli.
Co-corresponding authors: Luke Joshua Salazar and Krishnamachari Srinivasan.
Author contributions: Vibha K V led the main review and writing of the manuscript; Chandramouli S contributed to writing of specific sections of the review, specifically the sections that discussed women’s autonomy; Vibha K V and Chandramouli S contributed equally to this article, they are the co-first authors of this manuscript; Salazar LJ contributed to writing the introduction and critical content review of the entire manuscript; Srinivasan K contributed to the conceptualization of the primary structure and content of the manuscript, and critical content review that helped refine the overall work; Salazar LJ and Srinivasan K contributed equally to this article, they are the co-corresponding authors of this manuscript; and all authors thoroughly reviewed and endorsed the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Luke Joshua Salazar, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Psy
Received: April 21, 2025
Revised: July 19, 2025
Accepted: October 27, 2025
Published online: January 19, 2026
Processing time: 256 Days and 15.2 Hours
Revised: July 19, 2025
Accepted: October 27, 2025
Published online: January 19, 2026
Processing time: 256 Days and 15.2 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Common mental disorders, including depression and anxiety, are a major public health concern in low- and middle-income countries, especially among women, who face higher prevalence and poorer outcomes due to gender-based violence, low autonomy, and social stigma. These challenges are further exacerbated by treatment gaps, poor adherence, and high dropout rates. This paper highlights the need for culturally sensitive and gender-responsive care that addresses these sociocultural determinants, with a focus on evidence from India. We advocate for care models that are gender-sensitive and emphasize the potential of digital interventions and self-help groups as effective community-based strategies for managing common mental disorders.