Mental illness strikes half of U.S. adults

ATLANTA, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- About half of U.S. adults will develop a mental illness during their lifetime, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta says.

Ileana Arias, principle deputy director of CDC, says a 2009 survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration indicates that 11 million adults in the United States, 4.8 percent, suffered a diagnosable mental disorder that substantially interfered with, or limited one or more major life activities in the past year.

"We know that mental illness is an important public health problem in itself and is also associated with chronic medical diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity and cancer," Arias says in a statement. "The report's findings indicate that we need to expand surveillance activities that monitor levels of mental illness in the United States in order to strengthen our prevention efforts."

Approximately 8.4 million U.S. adults had serious thoughts of suicide in the past year, 2.2 million made suicide plans and 1 million attempted suicide, the survey finds.

"This new CDC study combined with SAMHSA's latest surveillance data provides a powerful picture of the impact of mental illness on public health," Pamela S. Hyde, SAMHSA administrator says. "People with mental disorders should seek help with the same urgency as any other health condition. Treatment and support services are effective and people do recover."