Mortality and mental health funding-do the dollars add up? Eating disorder research funding in Australia from 2009 to 2021: a portfolio analysis

Background Eating Disorders (EDs) are among the deadliest of the mental disorders and carry a sizeable public health burden, however their research and treatment is consistently underfunded, contributing to protracted illness and ongoing paucity of treatment innovation. Methods We compare absolute levels and growth rates of Australian mental health research funding by illness group for the years 2009-2021, with a specific focus on eating disorders analysed at the portfolio level. Findings Actual and adjusted data obtained from Australia's three national medical research funding bodies (NHMRC, ARC and MRFF) shows eating disorders receive a disproportionately low allocation of mental health research funding despite having amongst the highest mortality rates. Forty-one category one research grants totalling $AUD28.1 million were funded for eating disorders over the period. When adjusted for inflation, this equates to $2.05 per affected individual, compared with $19.56 for depression, $32.11 for autism, and $176.19 for schizophrenia. Half of all research funded for eating disorders was 'basic' research (e.g., illness underpinning), with little investment in the development of innovative treatment models, novel therapeutics or translation, well reflected by recovery rates of less than 50% in individuals with Anorexia Nervosa. Interpretation Significant discrepancy remains between research funding dollars and disease burden associated with the mental health disorders. The extent to which eating disorders are underfunded may in part be attributable to inaccuracies in epidemiological and burden of disease data. Funding This work was in-part funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and the National Eating Disorder Research & Translation Strategy. The funder was not directly involved in informing the development of the current study. Copyright (c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Automated summary

Eating disorders, one of the deadliest mental disorders, are consistently underfunded in research and treatment, leading to a lack of innovation. Despite high mortality rates, eating disorders receive disproportionately low funding compared to other mental health disorders, with the majority being allocated to basic research.