Mental Illness Facts and Numbers

Here are some more Mental Illness Facts and Numbers, provided by NAMI!

For the full list, please visit: 

http://www.nami.org/factsheets/mentalillness_factsheet.pdf.

~ Approximately 60 percent of adults, and almost one-half 

of youth ages 8 to 15 with a mental illness received no 

mental health services in the previous year. 

~ African American and Hispanic Americans used 

mental health services at about one-half the rate of 

whites in the past year and Asian Americans at about 

one-third the rate.

~One-half of all chronic mental illness begins by the age 

of 14; three-quarters by age 24.

~Despite effective 

treatment, there are long delays−sometimes 

decades−between the first appearance of symptoms 

and when people get help.

~ Serious mental illness costs America $193.2 billion 

in lost earnings per year.

~ Mood disorders such as depression are the third most 

common cause of hospitalization in the U.S. for both 

youth and adults ages 18 to 44.

~Individuals living with serious mental illness face an 

increased risk of having chronic medical conditions.

~Adults living with serious mental illness die on average 

25 years earlier than other Americans, largely due to 

treatable medical conditions.

~Over 50 percent of students with a mental health 

condition age 14 and older who are served by special 

education drop out−the highest dropout rate of any 

disability group.

~ Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the U.S. 

(more common than homicide) and the third leading 

cause of death for ages 15 to 24 years. More than 90 

percent of those who die by suicide had one or more 

mental disorders.

~ Although military members comprise less than 1 

percent of the U.S. population, veterans represent 

20 percent of suicides nationally. Each day, about 18 

veterans die from suicide.