Self-Reported Frequent Mental Distress Among Adults — United States, 1993–2001

Poor mental health is a major source of distress, disability, and social burden; in any given year, as many as one in five adults in the United States has a mental disorder. To identify differences among populations and factors contributing to poor mental health, CDC examined the prevalence of frequ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report 2004-10, Vol.53 (41), p.963-966
Main Authors: Zahran, H.S, Kobau, R, Moriarty, D.G, Zack, M.M, Giles, W.H, Lando, J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adults
Analysis
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
Depression - epidemiology
Depression - ethnology
Female
Health aspects
Hispanics
Household income
Humans
Low socioeconomic status
Male
Men
Mental health
Mental illness
Predisposing factors
Prevalence
Psychological stress
Socioeconomic Factors
Socioeconomic status
Statistics
Stress, Psychological - epidemiology
Stress, Psychological - ethnology
United States - epidemiology
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Summary:Poor mental health is a major source of distress, disability, and social burden; in any given year, as many as one in five adults in the United States has a mental disorder. To identify differences among populations and factors contributing to poor mental health, CDC examined the prevalence of frequent mental distress (FMD) among U.S. adults by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), and sex, by using aggregate data from Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) surveys for 1993-2001. This report describes the results of that analysis, which indicated that the prevalence of FMD varied among racial/ethnic populations and increased substantially among whites and blacks. In addition, FMD was reported more frequently by women and by persons with low SES within each racial/ethnic population. Targeting adverse socioeconomic risk factors and improving access to mental health services might decrease FMD among adults and reduce racial/ethnic disparities in mental health.
ISSN:0149-2195
1545-861X