May has been designated Mental Health Awareness Month.
Some mental health facts you may not know:
- More than 1 in 20 Americans aged 12 and over currently have depression (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2005-2006).
- Over 33,000 suicides occurred in 2006; that’s about 11 deaths per 100,000 population (National Vital Statistics System, 2006).
- Of visits to physician offices for chronic conditions, 9.5% were for depression in 2006, up from 7.5% in 1996 (National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 2006).
- Over the past month, nearly 10% of adults felt sad at least some of the time, and another 5% felt hopeless or worthless (National Health Interview Survey, 2007).
For more information visit Monitoring the Nation’s Health Care, Spring 2009.