Although emetophobia may not be at the top of the list as the most common mental health issue affecting Americans, a hefty 20 percent of Americans do suffer from some type of mental health woe. A federal government survey said 45.6 million people in the U.S. were afflicted by a mental health issue last year, or about one in five.
Quick facts from the survey include:
- The percentage of adults with any mental illness in the past year was highest for adults aged 18 to 25 (29.8 percent), followed by those aged 26 to 49 (21.4 percent), then by those aged 50 or older (14.3 percent)
- Adult women in 2011 were more likely than adult men to have any mental illness in the past year (23.0 vs. 15.9 percent).
- In 2011, the percentage of persons aged 18 or older with past year any mental illness was 15.9 percent among Hispanics, 16.1 percent among Asians, 18.8 percent among blacks, 20.5 percent among whites, 28.3 percent among persons reporting two or more races, and 28.9 percent among American Indians or Alaska Natives. The estimate of past year any mental illness among Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders aged 18 or older could not be reported because of low precision.
Review the entire report at SAMHSA: http://www.samhsa.gov/data/NSDUH/2k11MH_FindingsandDetTables/index.aspx
