State and Substate Estimates of Any Mental Illness from the 2012–2014 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health

Mental illness is a major public health concern in the United States. Information on the prevalence of mental illness is needed to help inform effective treatment and prevention programs.  Combined 2012–2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health national, regional, state-level, and substate-level estimates of any mental illness (AMI) among adults aged 18 or older were analyzed.  Nationally, 43.7 million adults aged 18 or older experienced AMI in the past year, corresponding to 18.39 percent of the adult population. Across the census regions, estimates of past year AMI were 19.00 percent in the West, 18.54 percent in the Midwest, 18.14 percent in the South, and 17.95 percent in the Northeast. Among states, AMI ranged from 15.83 percent in New Jersey to 22.72 percent in Oregon. Among the substate regions, past year AMI estimates ranged from 23.95 percent in Oregon’s Region 3 to 14.53 percent in Florida’s South (Circuits 11 and 16). Four states experienced a statistically significant increase from 2010-2012 to 2012–2014 in the rate of past year AMI for adults, while the remaining 46 states and District of Columbia experienced no change in the percentage of adults with past year AMI.  Highlighting the percentage of people with AMI at state and substate levels can help policymakers inform their assessments of mental health needs in their communities