Authors
François Gonon
Published in
Sante publique (Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France). Volume 38. Issue HS1. Pages 229-237.
Abstract
For most somatic diseases, diagnosis and treatment are guided by biological knowledge. However, psychiatry’s biological basis is currently limited to a few rare genetic disorders, such as certain forms of autism with intellectual disability. For other mental disorders, no biomarkers have yet been validated to aid diagnosis. Likewise, most psychotropic medications in use were discovered in the 1950s and 1960s through chance observations or are derived from these early molecules. The first part of this article presents doubts expressed by leaders in American psychiatry regarding the ability of neuroscience to reliably inform mental health practices in the foreseeable future. Between these doubts and the promises of spectacular advances widely reported in the media, there is a considerable gap. The second part examines these media misrepresentations, their causes, and their consequences. The third part highlights the specificities of psychiatry, particularly regarding diagnostic practices. Finally, the fourth part discusses primary prevention policies that could help reduce the economic and social costs of mental disorders. While not exhaustive, these include reducing the rate of premature births and teenage motherhood, strengthening educational support for primary school children, limiting children’s screen time, and reducing income and wealth inequalities. Overall, mental health is not solely a biomedical issue; it is a broader public health concern.
PMID:
42674995
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 01 Sep 2026.
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