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                Harvard Mental Health Letter

            
        


        
    
    
The prevalence and treatment of mental illness today



    


    
Published: March, 2014



The first large survey of mental illness and its treatment in the 
United States since the early 1990s shows that almost half of adult 
Americans at some time, and nearly a quarter in any given year, have had
 a psychiatric disorder. More of them are getting treatment today than 
in the early 1990s, but the treatment is still usually delayed and 
inadequate.




The study, called the National Comorbidity Survey Replication, was 
conducted in 2001–2003 with funding from the National Institute of 
Mental Health and a number of academic institutions and foundations.




Interviewers used a standard format to question a representative 
sample of more than 9,000 adults. At some time in their lives, nearly 
46% had at least one psychiatric disorder (as defined by the American 
Psychiatric Association's diagnostic manual). The rate was highest for 
anxiety disorders, including panic disorder, generalized anxiety, social
 anxiety, phobias, and post-traumatic stress disorder (29%). Next came 
impulse control disorders, including attention deficit hyperactivity 
disorder, conduct disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder (25%). 
Twenty-one percent had had a mood disorder and 15% had been dependent on
 or an abuser of alcohol or other drugs.




The most common individual psychiatric disorders were major 
depression (17%), alcohol abuse (13%), social anxiety disorder (12%), 
and conduct disorder (9.5%). Women were more likely to have had anxiety 
and mood disorders, men more likely to have had impulse control 
disorders. Different disorders often went together, especially anxiety 
and depression. About 28% of the population suffered more than one 
psychiatric disorder.




In the previous year, 26% of those interviewed had had a psychiatric 
disorder. Again, anxiety disorders were the most common (18%), followed 
by mood disorders (9.5%), impulse control disorders (9%), and substance 
abuse and dependence (4%).




Psychiatric disorders began early in life — in half of cases before 
age 14 and in three-fourths of cases before age 24. On average, anxiety 
and impulse control disorders first appeared at age 11, substance abuse 
at age 20, and depression at age 30.




Study authors define a "severe" disorder as one involving a suicide 
attempt, psychosis, severe drug dependence, serious violence, 
substantial disability or limitation, or being "out of role," that is, 
unable to function normally in family life, at work, and in personal 
relationships, for a month or more. By this definition, 22% of 
psychiatric disorders were severe, and 6% of the population had a severe
 psychiatric disorder in the previous year.




These numbers may be an underestimate. Some people must have failed 
to recall symptoms (especially chronic mild to moderate depression) or 
failed to report them because of shame and stigma. Homeless and 
institutionalized persons were excluded from the survey. The rate of 
response was 71%, and people who declined to participate probably had a 
higher than average rate of psychiatric illness.




Interviewers went on to ask: "Have you ever been treated for problems
 with your emotions or nerves or your use of alcohol or drugs?" About 
80% of people with a psychiatric disorder had eventually sought 
treatment, but often only after a long delay — the average was 10 years 
after symptoms first appeared. Major depression and panic disorder were 
usually treated fairly quickly, but fewer than 7% sought treatment for 
social anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and attention 
deficit disorder within the first year. And nearly half of those with 
impulse control or drug problems had never sought help at all.




About 17% of the interviewees, including 41% of those with a 
psychiatric disorder, said they had used mental health services in the 
previous year. Women were more likely to use these services than men, 
and whites more than blacks and Latinos with similar symptoms.




Family doctors, nurses, and other general medical professionals 
provided treatment for 23%; psychiatrists for 12%; other mental health 
professionals such as social workers and psychologists for 16%; 
counselors or spiritual advisers for 8%; and complementary and 
alternative practitioners (including self-help groups) for 7%. (The 
total is more than 41% because some people received treatment from more 
than one source.)




Most of this treatment was inadequate, at least by the standards 
applied in the survey. The researchers defined minimum adequacy as a 
suitable medication at a suitable dose for two months, along with at 
least four visits to a physician; or else eight visits to any licensed 
mental health professional. By that definition, only 33% of people with a
 psychiatric disorder were treated adequately, and only 13% of those who
 saw general medical practitioners.




A comparison with the original National Comorbidity Survey, conducted
 in 1991–1992, showed that Americans have been increasing their use of 
mental health services. The proportion of the population receiving 
treatment in the previous year rose more than 50% during the decade, 
mostly because of more visits to psychiatrists and other physicians.




It may be surprising to learn that 46% of the American population has
 been mentally ill at some time. But more than 99% of us will have a 
significant physical illness at some time in our lives, and even mild to
 moderate psychiatric disorders can be as harmful as chronic physical 
illness. Major depression, for example, causes more disability and 
misery than most medical disorders. And many psychiatric disorders are 
life-threatening — consider the relationship between alcoholism and 
accidental death, or between depression and suicide. Also, unlike most 
physical illnesses, mental illness usually begins in youth and affects 
people in the prime of life.




Treatment has become more widespread since the early 1990s because of
 greater public awareness, more effective diagnosis, less stigma, more 
screening and outreach programs, and greater availability of 
medications. Most important, according to the survey researchers, has 
been the growing willingness of general practitioners to prescribe 
psychoactive medications, especially antidepressants.




Still, at the beginning of the 21st century nearly 60% of people with
 psychiatric disorders were getting no treatment. And partly because 
most treatment was still inadequate, the overall rate of mental illness 
did not change between 1991–92 and 2001–2003. According to survey 
researchers, one reason may be that many physicians lack the time, 
training, and experience needed to persuade patients to keep taking 
medications and make return visits.




Some researchers point out that the problem may not be as serious as 
it seems. People often recover spontaneously from psychiatric disorders,
 as they do from physical illnesses. And, as with physical illnesses, 
sometimes there is no reliable treatment. But it can be hard to 
determine when treatment will be unnecessary or ineffective. The 
question is whether we need to detect mild symptoms earlier so that they
 won't get worse, or concentrate resources on the more severe (and less 
common) types of chronic mental illness. Survey researchers also suggest
 that we need more outreach and voluntary screening, more education 
about mental illness for the public and physicians, and more effort to 
treat substance abuse and impulse control disorders.







	
			
References




Kessler, RC et al. "Lifetime Prevalence and Age-of-Onset Distributions of DSM-IV Disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication," Archives of General Psychiatry (June 2005): Vol. 62, No. 6, pp. 593–602.




Kessler, RC et al. "Prevalence, Severity, and Comorbidity of 12-month DSM-IV Disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication," Archives of General Psychiatry (June 2005): Vol. 62, No. 6, pp. 617–27.




Kessler, RC et al. "Prevalence and Treatment of Mental Disorders, 1990 to 2003," New England Journal of Medicine (June 2005): Vol. 352, No. 24, pp. 2515–23.




Wang, PS et al. "Failure and Delay in Initial 
Treatment Contact After First Onset of Mental Disorders in the National 
Comorbidity Survey Replication," Archives of General Psychiatry (June 2005): Vol. 62, No. 6, pp. 603–13.




Wang, PS et al. "Twelve-Month Use of Mental Health Services in the United States: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication," Archives of General Psychiatry (June 2005): Vol. 62, No. 6, pp. 629–40.




For more references, please see www.health.harvard.edu/mentalextra.











    
    
    
        
    
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