MENTAL wellbeing has surpassed cancer as Spain’s top health concern, a study has found.
Ipsos’ 2025 Health Service Report, an annual survey of more than 30 countries, has revealed that 62% of Spaniards place mental wellbeing at the top of their healthcare priorities, with cancer trailing more than 10 points behind.
The trend has been steadily rising since the pandemic, but this year’s results mark an all-time high – with eight out of ten Spaniards calling for mental and physical health to be treated equally.
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“Almost half of the Spanish population feels that the system ignores this demand, treating mental wellbeing as a secondary issue,” the report warns.
The report uncovered a stark divide in Spanish society on the subject of mental health.
Women appeared more sensitive to the issue than men, with 67% of female respondents describing mental wellbeing as their number one worry compared with 56% of men.
While Millennials and Gen Z placed mental health first, baby boomers continued to rank cancer ahead.
Silvia Bravo, Director of Public Opinion Research and Social Studies at Ipsos in Spain, told La Sexta: “This new reality is generating a growing social demand.
“For this reason, it is crucial to address this divide – especially among women and young people, who not only show greater concern for mental health than the rest of the population, but also experience its negative consequences more directly.”
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According to a 2024 Unicef report, nearly 41 % of Spanish adolescents said they had struggled with their mental health over the previous year – and more than half of those did not seek help.
Over the past two decades, the number of adolescents hospitalised for depression in Spain ballooned by 1,200 %, a La Rioja International University study has found.
To compound the staggering figure, use of antidepressants has doubled among young women aged 15-24 over the past three years, according to a Cadena Ser report published in February.
Despite the mounting alarm, only a handful of the Ipsos respondents sought professional care, with 33% admitting they dealt with mental health issues by talking to friends and family.
Only 18% said they took medication, and 17% visited a psychologist or psychiatrist.
In the Ipsos study, Spain came second in Europe for concern over mental health, narrowly trailing Sweden (63%), ahead of Ireland (58%), France (48%), Poland (42%) and Italy (41%).
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