Researchers supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have found that half of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14, and that despite effective treatments, there are long delays -- sometimes decades -- between first onset of symptoms and when people seek and receive treatment. The study also reveals that an untreated mental disorder can lead to a more severe, more difficult to treat illness, and to the development of co-occurring mental illnesses.

The landmark study is described in four papers that document the prevalence and severity of specific mental disorders. The papers provide significant new data on the impairment -- such as days lost from work -- caused by specific disorders, including mood, anxiety, and substance abuse disorders. These measures will allow researchers to determine the degree of disability and the economic burden caused by mental illness, as well as trends over time.

The papers are reported in the June 6 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry by Ronald Kessler, Ph.D., and colleagues. The study was a collaborative project between Harvard University, the University of Michigan, and the NIMH Intramural Research Program.

This study, called the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R), is a household survey of 9,282 English-speaking respondents, age 18 and older. It is an expanded replication of the 1990 National Comorbidity Survey, which was the first to estimate the prevalence of mental disorders (using modern psychiatric standards) in a nationally representative sample. The expansion includes detailed measures that will significantly improve estimates of the severity and persistence of mental disorders, and the degree to which they impair individuals and families, and burden employers and the U.S. economy.

"These studies confirm a growing understanding about the nature of mental illness across the lifespan," says Thomas Insel, M.
'"/>

Contact: NIMH Press Office
nimhpress@nih.gov
301-443-4536
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health
6-Jun-2005

Page: 1 2 3 4 5
Related medicine news :

1. Mental illnesses appear common among veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan
2. Mental health problems threaten the knowledge economy
3. Yarning about Mental Health during International Mental Health Week
4. Mental health units should not be exempt from smoking ban
5. Mental disorders as common in Lebanon as in western Europe
6. Mental stress effects on heart more common than previously known
7. Mental stress may lead to heart disease
8. Mental distress due to abortion lasts for years
9. Mental stress may be another culprit in raising cholesterol levels in healthy adults
10. Mental health services underutilized by cancer patients
11. Mental illness exacts enormous toll for US businesses and institutions