Study: Women more at risk of mental illness than men

NEW YORK — One in five American adults, or nearly 50 million people, suffered mental illness in the past year with women and young adults more susceptible, a government report released on Thursday found.

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The survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found women were more likely than men (23 percent to 16.8 percent) to have experienced a mental illness, while the rate of mental illness among people aged 18 to 25 was twice that of those aged 50 and older.

The administration defined mental illness among adults as having had a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder, excluding developmental and substance use disorders.

It also showed that 5 percent of adults, or 11.4 million people, had suffered a serious mental illness in that past year that substantially interfered with their lives.

The report found about 8.7 million American adults had serious thoughts of suicide with 2.5 million of those making suicide plans and 1.1 million attempting to take their own lives.

Americans suffering mental illness were three times as likely to have developed substance dependence or substance abuse than adults who have not experienced mental illness.

Among youth aged 12 to 17, 8 percent -- or 1.9 million teenagers -- experienced a major depressive episode in the past year, which is defined as a period of at least 2 weeks when a person experienced a depressed mood or loss of interest.

Those teenagers who experienced a depressive episode also had twice the rate of illicit drug use than teenagers who had not experienced depression.

The administration surveyed 67,500 people aged 12 and older in person around the United States.