Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Nov;101(11):2156-63.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300258. Epub 2011 Sep 22.

National trends in mental health disability, 1997-2009

Ramin Mojtabai  1
Affiliations

National trends in mental health disability, 1997-2009

Ramin Mojtabai. Am J Public Health. 2011 Nov.

Abstract

Objectives: I assessed recent trends in mental health disability in the US nonelderly adult population in the context of trends in physical disabilities and psychological distress.

Methods: Using data for 312 364 adults aged 18 to 64 years from the US National Health Interview Survey, 1997 to 2009, I examined time trends in self-reported disability attributed to mental health conditions, disability attributed to other chronic problems, and significant psychological distress (measured by using the K6 instrument).

Results: The prevalence of self-reported mental health disability increased from 2.0% of the nonelderly adult population in the first 3 years (1997 to 1999) to 2.7% in the last 3 years (2007 to 2009), corresponding to an increase of almost 2 million disabled adults. Disability attributed to other chronic conditions decreased and significant psychological distress did not change appreciably. Change in self-reported mental health disability was more pronounced in adults who also reported disability attributed to other chronic conditions or significant psychological distress but who had no mental health contacts in the past year.

Conclusions: These findings highlight the need for improved access to mental health services in the community and for better integration of these services with primary care.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Trends in mental health disability in nonelderly adult participants according to other chronic condition disability and whether they (a) had any professional mental health contacts or (b) did not have such contacts in the past 12 months: US National Health Interview Survey, 1997–2009.
FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Trends in mental health disability in nonelderly adult participants according to other chronic condition disability and whether they (a) had any professional mental health contacts or (b) did not have such contacts in the past 12 months: US National Health Interview Survey, 1997–2009.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Trends in mental health disability in nonelderly adult participants according to level of psychological distress and whether they (a) had any professional mental health contacts or (b) did not have such contacts in the past 12 months: US National Health Interview Survey, 1997–2009.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Trends in mental health disability in nonelderly adult participants according to level of psychological distress and whether they (a) had any professional mental health contacts or (b) did not have such contacts in the past 12 months: US National Health Interview Survey, 1997–2009.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kessler RC, Akiskal HS, Ames M, et al. Prevalence and effects of mood disorders on work performance in a nationally representative sample of U. S. workers. Am J Psychiatry. 2006;163(9):1561–1568 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mojtabai R. Residual symptoms and impairment in major depression in the community. Am J Psychiatry. 2001;158(10):1645–1651 - PubMed
    1. Kessler RC, Walters EE, Forthofer MS. The social consequences of psychiatric disorders, III: probability of marital stability. Am J Psychiatry. 1998;155(8):1092–1096 - PubMed
    1. Kessler RC, Foster CL, Saunders WB, Stang PE. Social consequences of psychiatric disorders, I: educational attainment. Am J Psychiatry. 1995;152(7):1026–1032 - PubMed
    1. Alonso J, Angermeyer MC, Bernert S, et al. Disability and quality of life impact of mental disorders in Europe: results from the European Study of the Epidemiology of Mental Disorders (ESEMeD) project. Acta Psychiatr Scand Suppl. 2004;(420):38–46 - PubMed

Publication types