Mental Health Statistics: Suicide

 

• In 2004, more than 5,500 people in the UK died by suicide. (Samaritans suicide statistics, 2004)
  
• British men are three times as likely as British women to die by suicide. (Samaritans Information Resource Pack, 2004)
  
• Suicide remains the most common cause of death in men under the age of 35. (The National Service Framework For Mental Health – Five Years On, Department Of Health, 2005)
• The suicide rate among people over 65 has fallen by 24% in recent years, but is still high compared to the population overall. (Samaritans Information Resource Pack, 2004)

 

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Mental Health Statistics: Older People

 

• Depression affects 1 in 5 older people living in the community and 2 in 5 living in care homes. (Adults In Later Life with Mental Health Problems, Mental Health Foundation quoting Psychiatry in the Elderly, 3rd edition, Oxford University Press, 2002)
  
• Dementia affects 5% of people over the age of 65 and 20% of those over 80. (National Institute For Clinical Excellence, 2004)
  
• About 700,000 people in the UK have dementia (1.2% of the population) at any one time. (National Institute For Clinical Excellence, 2004)

 

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Mental Health Statistics: Children & Young People

 

• One in ten children between the ages of one and 15 has a mental health disorder. (The Office for National Statistics Mental health in children and young people in Great Britain, 2005)
• Estimates vary, but research suggests that 20% of children have a mental health problem in any given year, and about 10% at any one time.  (Lifetime Impacts: Childhood and Adolescent Mental Health, Understanding The Lifetime Impacts, Mental Health Foundation, 2005)
• Rates of mental health problems among children increase as they reach adolescence. Disorders affect 10.4% of boys aged 5-10, rising to 12.8% of boys aged 11-15, and 5.9% of girls aged 5-10, rising to 9.65% of girls aged 11-15. (Mental Disorder More Common In Boys, National Statistics Online, 2004)

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Mental Health Statistics: The Most Common Mental Health Problems

 

• Mixed anxiety & depression is the most common mental disorder in Britain, with almost 9% of people meeting criteria for diagnosis. (The Office for National Statistics Psychiatric Morbidity report, 2001)
• Between 8-12% of the population experience depression in any year. (The Office for National Statistics Psychiatric Morbidity report, 2001)
• About half of people with common mental health problems are no longer affected after 18 months, but poorer people, the long-term sick and unemployed people are more likely to be still affected than the general population.  (Better Or Worse: A Longitudinal Study Of The Mental Health Of Adults In Great Britain, National Statistics, 2003) 
• 12/12/2011 - Mental illness is a growing problem in society and is increasingly affecting productivity and well-being in the workplace, according to a new OECD report.
  
  Sick on the Job? Myths and Realities about Mental Health at Work says that one in five workers suffer from a mental illness, such as depression or anxiety, and many are struggling to cope.
  
  Three in four workers with a mental disorder report reduced productivity at work, compared to one in four workers without a mental disorder. Work absences are also much more frequent for workers with mental illness, and about 30% to 50% of all new disability benefit claims in OECD countries are now attributed to mental ill health.
  
  The report challenges some of the myths around mental health and concludes that policymakers need to look for new solutions. Most people with a mental disorder work, with employment rates of between 55% to 70%, about 10 to 15 percentage points lower than for people without a disorder.
   

 

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Mental Health Statistics: UK & Worldwide

• It is estimated that approximately 450 million people worldwide have a mental health problem.  (World Health Organisation, 2001)
  
• 1 in 4 British adults experience at least one diagnosable mental health problem in any one year, and 1 in 6 experiences this at any given time.
  (The Office for National Statistics Psychiatric Morbidity report, 2001)
  
• Although mental disorders are widespread, serious cases are concentrated among a relatively small proportion of people who experience more than one mental health problem. (The British Journal of Psychiatry, 2005) 
• According to a rigorous health survey conducted by the CDC in 2004, an estimated 25 percent of adults in the U.S. reported having a mental illness in the previous year. Lifetime prevalence rates of mental illness in the U.S. were around 50 percent when measured back in 2004. That means in a family of four, one of you likely has a mental illness.

 

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