By The Numbers

Mental Health Statistics

  • Teenage suicide up 70% nationally

  • Suicide is the Second leading cause of death ages 10-24, nationally. (2016 CDC)
  • About 600 adolescents die from cancer each year nationally; triple that amount dies from suicide. Cancer is the fourth leading cause of death in this age group, behind only accidents, suicide, and homicide. (American Cancer Society)
  • More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, stroke, pneumonia, and influenza, COMBINED. (American Cancer Society)
  • From 2013 to 2015 – approximately 2,731 (1,000 a year) teens age 10 to 24 were treated in hospital emergency rooms in New Jersey for non-fatal suicide attempts/self-inflicted injuries an increase of 37.3% (NJ Youth Suicide Report)
  • From 2007 to 2016 the rate of suicides in New Jersey among children ages 10 – 18 rose by 16.6% (NJ Department of Health)
  • 1 in 5 Americans have experienced some sort of mental illness (SAMHSA)
  • Mental Health problems are more common than cancer and heart disease combined (SAMHSA)
  • Approximately 1 in 25 adults in the U.S. 4.2% experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.(NIMH)
  • Approximately 1 in 5 youth aged 13–18 (21.4%) experiences a severe mental disorder at some point during their life. For children aged 8–15, the estimate is 13%.(NIMH)
  • 18.1% of adults in the U.S. experienced an anxiety disorder such as posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and specific phobias.(NIMH)
  • An estimated 26% of homeless adults staying in shelters live with serious mental illness and an estimated 46% live with severe mental illness and/or substance use disorders.(HUD)
  • Only 41% of adults in the U.S. with a mental health condition received mental health services in the past year. Among adults with a serious mental illness, 62.9% received mental health services in the past year.(SAMSHA)
  • Although military members comprise less than 1 percent of the U.S. population, veterans represent 20% of suicides nationally. Each day, about 22 veterans die from suicide. (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Mental Health Services, Suicide Prevention Program. (2013). Suicide Data Report, 2012)
  • Number of visits (to physician offices, hospital outpatient and emergency departments) with mental disorders as primary diagnosis: 63.3 million (CDC, 2009-2010)
  • Approximately 26 percent of homeless adults staying in shelters live with serious mental illness and an estimated 46 percent live with severe mental illness and/or substance use disorders (HUD, 2011)
  • Serious mental illness costs America $193.2 billion in lost earnings per year. (117 Insel, T.R. (2008). Assessing the Economic Costs of Serious Mental Illness. The American Journal of Psychiatry. 165(6), 663-665.)