Quick Statistics about Mental Illness

1. 450 million people worldwide are affected by mental, neurological and behavioral problems at any time (WHO)
2. Men, women and children of all ages, ethnicity and socioeconomic status are afflicted by these disorders of the brain.
3. Mental illnesses rank first among illnesses that cause disability in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe.
4. 4 out of 10 leading causes of disability in the U.S. and other developed countries are mental disorders – major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (WHO).
5. It is predicted that by 2010, depression will be the leading cause of disability worldwide, not cancer, heart disease, diabetes, or AIDS (WHO).
6. Many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a given time, and also with co-morbid chronic diseases such as diabetes, HIV/AIDS, cancer, heart disease, etc.
7. An estimated 22.1 % of American ages 18 and older – about 1 in 5 adults – suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year - That translates to 44.3 million people. But statistics show that only one-third of these individuals seek treatment.
8. 20% of children and adolescents in the United States suffer from mental illness. Fewer than one in five of them receive treatment – up to 80% fail to receive critically needed treatment (Surgeon General’s Conference on Children’s Mental Health, 2000).
9. Recovery rates for mental illnesses surpass the treatment success rates for many other physical illnesses, including heart disease. Recovery rates include: Schizophrenia, 60%, bipolar disorder, 80%, major depression, 65% to 80%, and addiction treatment, 70% (Report of the National Advisory Mental Health Council, March 1998).
10. Mental illness is a serious public health challenge that is under-recognized as a public burden. The toll of mental illness is tragic:

	Human Cost: The World Health Organization recently reported that suicide worldwide causes more deaths every year than homicide or war. Suicide is a huge but largely preventable public health problem, causing almost half of all violent deaths and resulting in almost one million fatalities every year, as well as economic costs in the billions of dollars, says the World Health Organization (WHO). Estimates suggest fatalities could rise to 1.5 million by 2020. In 90% of suicides, mental illness is the attributing cause. Every 40 seconds there is suicide in the world claiming nearly a million lives a year. In America, suicide claims a life every 18 minutes, amounting to 300,000 lives annually. Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among 15 to 24 year olds and is responsible for more deaths in this age group than all other illnesses combined. (Institute of medicine 2002 and Surgeon General 1999).
	Economic Cost: While numbers cannot convey the distress accompanying mental disorders, the economic impact can be calculated. Mental disorders cost the United States more than $150 billion each year for treatment, for the costs of social service and disability payments made to patients, and for lost productivity and premature mortality. Schizophrenia alone costs the Nation some $30 billion annually. (www.healthieryou.com/amer)
	Social Cost: Fewer than 55,000 Americans currently receive treatment in psychiatric hospitals. Meanwhile, almost 10 times that number -- nearly 500,000 -- mentally ill men and women are serving time in U.S. jails and prisons. (The New Asylums – A PBS Frontline Documentary). An alarming 65% of boys and 75% of girls in juvenile detention have at least one psychiatric diagnosis. (Teplin, L. Archives of General Psychiatry, Vol. 59, December 2002). Approximately 40% of the people who re homeless in America suffer from serious and persistent mental illnesses. Many of these individuals also suffer from co-occurring substance abuse disorders. (U.S. Conference of Mayors)