Anxiety disorders and depressive disorders are the most prevalent mental health conditions in the United States. Read on to learn more about what other disorders are most common.
Mental health conditions are highly prevalent in the United States. Approximately1 in 5 adultsin America experience at least one type of mental health condition and 1 in 25 will experience some type of serious mental illness per year. Due to the high prevalence, it is important to raise awareness about the most common mental health disorders.
Mood disorders and anxiety disorders are some of the most common types of mental illness that are diagnosed in the United States, but personality disorders, eating disorders and psychotic disorders also appear frequently. It is critical to reduce stigma about the most common mental health conditions to encourage more people to seek professional treatment when it is needed.
Anxiety Disorders
Theprevalence of anxiety disordersis high in the United States and are the most common mental health condition in America. It is estimated that40 millionadults and 8% of adolescents have an anxiety disorder in the United States.
Common anxiety disorders include:
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- Generalized Anxiety Disorder:About2%of adults in the United States are estimated to have generalized anxiety disorder each year.
- Social Anxiety Disorder:Approximately7%of adults in the United States have social anxiety disorder in a given year. The prevalence of social anxiety disorder ishigher for femalesthan males, as 8% of women and 6.1% of men experience the disorder. It is estimated that 12.1% of adults in the United States experience the disorder at some point in their lives.
- Panic Disorder:Approximately2–3%of American adults experience panic disorder each year.
- Phobias:Specific phobiasare the most common type of anxiety disorders, as they affect9.1%of the population. It is estimated that 12.5% of American adults will experience symptoms of specific phobia at some point in their lives.
Depression
Theprevalence of depressionis great in the United States, as depression is the second most common mental illness after anxiety disorders. The World Health Organization estimates that300 millionpeople around the world have depression.
Some of the most common types of depression include:
- Major Depressive Disorder:Major depressive disorderis the most common and most severe type of depression. Estimates show that16.2 millionadults in the United States have experienced at least one major depressive episode per year.
- Seasonal Depression:Seasonal depressionimpacts up to5%of the United States population per year. Approximately80%of individuals who experience seasonal depression are female.
- Postpartum Depression:According to the American Psychological Association, approximately10–15%of women in the United States experience a depressive episode within three months of childbirth. About600,000women experiencepostpartum depressionwithin one year of giving birth.
Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder statisticsshow that approximately2.8%of Americans are diagnosed with the condition. The prevalence of bipolar disorder is fairly equal across both genders and is considered to be thesixthleading cause of disability by the World Health Organization. About4.4%of American adults are estimated to experiencebipolar disorderat some point during their lives.
Personality Disorders
Thepercentage of the population with personality disordersis estimated to be about10–13%of the general population. Approximately9%of American adults have at least one personality disorder. Personality disorders are among the most common of all psychiatric diagnoses, as about40–60%of psychiatric patients are diagnosed with a personality disorder.
Some of the most common personality disorders include:
- Borderline Personality Disorder:More than 4 million Americans have borderline personality disorder. Approximately75%of people with this diagnosis are women.
- Narcissistic Personality Disorder:NPD affects approximately0.5%of the U.S. population.
- Paranoid Personality Disorder:The prevalence of paranoid personality disorder is2–10%in individuals receiving outpatient mental health treatment. The prevalence is approximately10–30%in people receiving treatment in psychiatric inpatient facilities.
Eating Disorders
Theprevalence of eating disordersshows that at least30 millionpeople are struggling with an eating disorder in the United States. Eating disorders have thehighest mortality ratewhen compared to all categories of mental illness. Eating disorders are more prevalent in females than males, as about20 millionAmerican women are impacted by an eating disorder at some point during their lives. Eating disorders are also common in the younger population as about95%of eating disorder cases are in people aged 12–25 years old. Eating disorders are the third most common chronic health issue in teenage girls.
There are many types of eating disorder, but some of the most common eating disorders include:
- Binge Eating Disorder:Binge eating disorder is themost common type of eating disorderin the United States. In the United States, binge eating disorder isthree timesmore prevalent than bulimia and anorexia combined. The lifetime prevalence rate of binge eating disorder is estimated to be about2.8%of adults in the United States.
- Bulimia Nervosa:The lifetime prevalence of American adults is1%. In the college-age population,up to 19%of women struggle with bulimia.
- Anorexia Nervosa:The lifetime prevalence of anorexia nervosa is about0.6%of American adults. Approximately25%of children who have anorexiaare male.
Schizophrenia & Psychotic Disorders
Theprevalence of schizophreniaand other related psychotic disorders are estimated to be between0.25% and 0.64%. Schizophrenia is one of thetop 15leading causes of disability across the world, with more than2.4 millionadults living with the condition in the United States.
Psychosis statisticsshow that about3%of individuals experience a psychotic episode as adults. In those individuals who develop a psychotic disorder,25%will never go on to have another episode.
Other Common Mental Health Conditions
In addition to anxiety and depressive disorders, other common mental health disorders include attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These mental health conditions are classified as “common” due to the fact that they impact more individuals than other mental health problems.
ADHD
ADHD statisticsshow that about 5% of children are diagnosed with ADHD, according to the DSM-5. Another study showed that15.5%of children in grades 1–5 had ADHD. ADHD prevalence in adults was studied in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R), and results concluded that about4.4%of adults in America had ADHD.
Autism
Autism prevalence shows that approximately1 in 59children have been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, according to the CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network.Autism statisticsshow that the condition isfour timesmore common in men than women, and about40%of people diagnosed are non-verbal.
PTSD
PTSD statisticsshow that about8 millionAmericans have PTSD during a given year. About20%of people who experience a traumatic event will go on to develop PTSD. Approximately1 in 13people will be affected by PTSD during their lives.
