Nearly one in five American adults experience mental illness annually

Published on July 25, 2017

Mental illness affects 43.7 million adults in the United States each year, according to a newly released report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). That figure represents 18.39 percent of the U.S. population over the age of 18.

The data, collected through the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) from 2012 to 2014, show that Oregon had the highest rate of adults who had experienced any mental illness (AMI) in the past year " 22.72 percent. Following Oregon were Utah (21.72 percent), West Virginia (21.7 percent), Maine (21.3 percent), and Rhode Island (21.11 percent).

States with lower rates included New Jersey (15.83 percent), Illinois (16.36 percent), and North Dakota (16.45 percent). The rate for both Florida and South Dakota was 16.46 percent.

"The figures in SAMHSA's report remind us how important it is to take mental health as seriously as any other health condition, " said SAMHSA Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary Kana Enomoto.

The report also compares the combined 2012"2014 state estimates of past year AMI with 2010"2012 estimates of AMI to examine changes over time. Four states experienced an increase: California, Maine, North Carolina, and Rhode Island. The remaining states saw no change.

In addition to providing state-level data, the report provides estimates for substate regions. Estimates ranged from 23.95 percent in Oregon's Region 3, located in the northwestern part of the state, to 14.53 percent in Florida's Southern region.

The report, State and Substate Estimates of Any Mental Illness from the 2012"2014 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, is available at https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/report_3189/ShortReport-3189.html. NSDUH is an annual survey of the U.S. civilian, noninstitutionalized population age 12 years or older.