WHO has defined the social determinants of mental health (2008) as “social justice is a matter of life or death. Affects how people live, their propensity for disease and risk of premature death”. Underlies that health is not only determined by biological, but by social factors that can be divided into: Economic, Gender and Cultural.

The author proposes to do a literature review focusing on a consensus on the social determinants of mental health, and the implications on the policies of various countries.

We performed a literature review using textbooks and research papers (Medline, Pubmed, 1997–2010).

Topics about Social Determinants of Mental Health often establish, the social gradient, situations of stress, childhood development, poverty, drug dependence, conditions at work, unemployment, social support, food, transportation policies, gender and cultural determinants.

The Global Movement for Mental Health should play an important role in public health activities, focusing on global mental illness. To do this effectively, the mental health professionals need to confront global poverty, its relationship with the political and economic developments as well as the consequences for common mental illnesses.

In a public health perspective, evidence of the mechanisms of this relationship can be used to consider a variety of primary and secondary preventive strategies with regard to mental health.