Mental disorders represent the fifth most common cause of disability worldwide [1]. Available treatment options do not result in a restitutio ad integrum for most mental conditions. Instead, investing efforts in mental health promotion, prevention, and early intervention may produce the best results [2]. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends all neuropsychiatric interventions to be oriented towards promoting positive mental health at the population level, to enhance individuals’ abilities to monitor their mental health and its determinants [3]. On the other hand, prevention strategies aim to intervene in the pre-pathogenesis stage to prevent such conditions from arising whenever possible (primary prevention), promote early detection, screening, prompt treatment of disease, and limitation of disability (secondary prevention), and to sustain recovery, rehabilitation, and the restoration of functioning at the later stages of the disease (tertiary prevention) [4]. Thus, depending on the need of the individuals presenting at different stages in a continuum between mental health and disease [5], promotion and early intervention strategies aim at supporting the continuity of mental health care to achieve the best possible outcome in terms of wellbeing. Most prevention strategies so far have focused on psychosis, by applying an at-risk mental state (ARMS) concept implying the possibility to hamper the progression to full-blown disorder [6]. However, more recent evidence begins to support the possibility of widening the clinical area of intervention beyond psychosis, including common psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and eating disorders [7]. In this regard, an updated and more comprehensive clinical staging model has been proposed, the clinical high-risk mental state (CHARMS), which incorporates a trans-diagnostic paradigm [6]. A recent reappraisal of the literature suggests the importance of reorienting such interventions towards the youth population [8,9].

Oncology is one of the health sectors where prevention, early detection, multidisciplinary, and personalized strategies have led to tremendous advances, reshaping cancer care [10]. Lessons learnt from oncological research indicate that common risk factors for cancer diseases, such as alcohol, smoking, being overweight and physically inactive, have pro-cancer effects as a function of gender, with men and women being differentially exposed to the joint and multiplicative effects of risk factors [11]. Thus, despite all things being equal, loss of health is not equal among male and female individuals, urging the adoption of a gendered perspective for more effective public health interventions.

Mental health is no exception. When developing preventive strategies for mental health, an important aspect to be considered is represented by gender, defined as socio-cultural constructs encompassing norms, rules, behaviors, and attitudes associated with being girls/women or boys/men, along with sex, which instead refers to a set of biological and physiological characteristics [12]. Gender interacts with differences between the sexes but represents a broader-spectrum dimension and may combine with other social factors, potentially resulting in a differential exacerbation of biological susceptibilities. Considering their differential and interacting impact on mental health, both gender- and sex-related differences should always be taken into consideration, starting from the implementation of promotion of the adoption of screening strategies to identify those people at risk of developing mental health problems, to prevent their onset or at least allow action before they worsen [8]. Furthermore, unique challenges, specific health issues, and health disparities may be faced by people with non-conforming gender, and a recent review of the literature highlights the importance of promoting gender diversity, to avoid a negative impact on mental health [13].

Several risk factors mapping on a pluripotent pathological trajectory for mental disorders have been identified [8]. They exert most of their influence on mental health from the prenatal period to early adulthood, with a less relevant modulation occurring until old age [14]. Additionally, pregnancy, parenthood, childhood care, behaviors exhibited in a relationship, and socio-occupational environments are privileged areas for interventions [14,15,16,17,18]. Research studies suggest a different response to life events as a function of gender [19,20].

2. Gender-Oriented Mental Health Prevention