Mental disorders are common in the United States and internationally. An estimated 22.1 percent of Americans ages 18 and olderabout 1 in 5 adultssuffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.1
When applied to the 1998 U.S. Census residential population estimate, this figure translates to 44.3 million people. 2 In addition, 4 of the 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. 3 Many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a given time.
Depressive disorders encompass major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, and bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is included because people with this illness have depressive episodes as well as manic episodes.
Anxiety disorders include panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and phobias (social phobia, agoraphobia, and specific phobia).
The 3 main types of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder.
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Source: The National Institute of Mental Health, NIH Publication No. 01-4584, January 01, 2001