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Mental Illnesses are Common

  • Mental illnesses affect one in every five American families. i
  • Twenty-three percent of American adults (ages 18 and older) suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year, but only half report impairment of their daily function because of it. ii
  • One in five children have a diagnosable mental, emotional or behavioral disorder. And up to one in 10 may suffer from a serious emotional disturbance. Seventy percent of all children, however, do not receive mental health services. iii
  • Four of the 10 leading causes of disability in the United States and other developed countries are mental disorders, which include major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. iv
  • Up to one-half of all visits to primary care physicians are due to conditions that are caused or exacerbated by mental or emotional problems. v
  • It is estimated that 5.4 percent of American adults, or as many as 2.8 million Americans, suffer from a severe mental illness. vi
  • In 1998, approximately 5.7 percent of the adult population in Wisconsin suffered from a serious mental illness. This number represents only non-institutionalized individuals. vii
  • Nearly half of all adults with serious and persistent mental illnesses are between the ages of 25 and 44. viii
  • At least 2 million Americans suffer from schizophrenia, the most debilitating mental illness. i
  • Approximately one-third of the estimated 600,000 homeless people in the United States have a severe mental illness. However, only one in 20 persons with a severe mental illness is homeless. ix
  • Three times as many people died of suicide in Wisconsin in 2000 than were killed by homicides. x And, 90 percent of persons who complete suicide suffered from a mental illness or substance abuse disorders.
    At least 10 to 20 percent of widows and widowers develop clinically significant depression within one year of their spouse’s death. iii
  • People with mental illnesses fill more hospital beds than those with cancer, lung and heart disease combined. xi

    i California Psychiatric Association. CPA Documents, Psychiatry: Medicine’s Newest Revolution. http://www.calpsych.org/mentaldisorders.html
    ii Regier D.A., et al. 1993. The De Facto Mental and Addictive Disorders Service System. “Epidemiologic Catchment Area Prospective One Year Prevalence Rates of Disorders and Services.” Archives of General Psychiatry, 50 (2): 85-94.
    iii Surgeon General’s Report on Mental Health, 1999.
    iv Murray, C.J.L., and A.D. Lopez, eds. 1996. Summary: The Global Burden of Disease: A Comprehensive Assessment of Mortality and Disability from Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors in 1990 and Projected to 2020. Cambridge, M.A.: Harvard School of Public Health on Behalf of the World Health Organization and the World Bank, Harvard University Press. http://www.who.int/msa/mnh/ems/dalys/intro.htm
    v Collaborative Family Healthcare Coalition, 1998.
    vi Kessler, R.C., et al. 1998. “A Methodology for Estimating the 12-Month Prevalence of Serious Mental Illness.” In Mental Health, United States, 1999, edited by R.W. Manderscheid and M.J. Henderson, 99-109. Rockville, M.D.: Center for Mental Health Services.
    NOTE – Severe mental illness (SMI) is when a person meets the criteria for a DSM disorder during a 12-month period causing functional impairment (excluding substance use disorders and developmental disorders). Functional impairment is substantial interference with one or more major life activities including basic daily living skills (eating and drinking), instrumental living skills (maintaining a household and managing money) and functioning in social, family, and vocational/educational contexts.
    vii Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services. http://www.dhfs.state.wi.us/medicaid4/hmo98-99/page19.htm
    viii Manderscheid, R.W. and M.A. Sonnerschein. 1992. Mental Health in the United States. Rockville, M.D.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
    ix Federal Task Force on Homelessness and Severe Mental Illness. 1992. Outcasts On Main Street: A Report of the Federal Task Force on Homelessness and Severe Mental Illness. Washington, D.C.: GPO.
    x Medical College of Wisconsin. http://www.dante.lib.mcw.edu/not-ful.cfm?ID=202
    xi National Alliance for the Mentally Ill – Charlotte Web site. http://www.behavenet.com/nami-charlotte/sub/facts/htm