ArticleInternational journal for equity in health2026
Global and regional quality of care index in major depressive disorder: the global burden of disease study 2021.
Article in International journal for equity in health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Tryptophan metabolism: a critical bridge linking gut microbiota to depression.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Review
- Quality of care index and gender disparity ratio for stroke and its subtypes from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.PloS one · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMajor depressive disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of global disability, yet systematic evaluations of quality of care disparities across regions are sparse. Leveraging data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2021, this study quantified the quality of care for MDD from 1990 to 2021 and examined socio-demographic inequities by age and sex.
methodsData on MDD were extracted from the GBD 2021 study for the globe, 5 socio-demographic index (SDI) regions and 21 GBD regions. The quality of care index (QCI) is a composite, dimensionless index scaling from 0 to 100, with higher values indicating better quality of care. The age-standardized QCI was calculated using the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method and further stratified by sex, age, and region. The gender disparity ratio (GDR) was used to characterize the sex disparities. The temporal trend of QCI and GDR by sex and age across SDI regions was further calculated.
resultsGlobally, the QCI of MDD increased from 56.26 (1990) to 62.95 (2021), with low SDI regions consistently exhibiting the highest QCI (71.90 in 1990; 71.19 in 2021) and high SDI regions the lowest (40.28 to 51.55). Sex disparities widened as female QCI rose by 14.0% (vs. 7.6% in males) and GDR increased from 1.02 to 1.08. The highest GDR (1.27) persisted in Oceania, while Tropical Latin America had the lowest (0.94 in 2021). Age-specific QCI peaked in adolescents (10-14 years) and declined with age, with notable improvements post-2019. Older adults (> 80 years) in high SDI regions saw higher QCI versus low-middle SDI regions. Trend analysis revealed that high and high-middle SDI regions maintained a lower QCI of MDD than the global average level but narrower sex gaps (GDR 1.04 in 2021) compared to low SDI regions (GDR 1.15).
conclusionsWhile global quality of care for MDD improved, socioeconomic development inversely correlated with QCI, potentially reflecting systemic under-reporting in low-resource settings and overburdened systems in high-income regions. Persistent gender and age disparities necessitate targeted and equal policies, including sex-sensitive care models and geriatric mental health integration.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.