4.3 mln Chinese with severe mental disorders: authority

Nearly 4.3 million Chinese are registered with severe mental disorders at the end of 2014, with 96.9 percent in stable condition, China's health authority said Friday.

The male-female gender ratio of people with severe mental disorders is 1.07:1, and 4.67 percent have a family history of illness, Wang Bin, an official with the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC), said at a press conference Friday.

Most patients, about 83.6 percent, have an education level below middle school and more than half live in poverty, Wang said.

The figures show people with severe mental disorders are vulnerable social groups with serious difficulties.

Wang said severe mental disorders have been included in China's basic health care. About one third of provincial regions have made specific policies to help patients with severe mental disorders.

China now has 1,650 professional mental health institutions, with 228,000 beds, about 1.71 beds per 10,000 people on average. The number of psychiatrists exceeded 20,000, about 1.49 psychiatrists per 100,000 people on average. Endi