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Statistics on mental health

  • 1 in 4 people will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year

  • Mixed anxiety & depression is the most common mental disorder in Britain

  • Women are more likely to have been treated for a mental health problem than men

  • About 10% of children have a mental health problem at any one time

  • Depression affects 1 in 5 older people living in the community and 2 in 5 living in care homes

  • British men are three times as likely as British women to die by suicide

  • The UK has one of the highest rates of self harm in Europe, at 400 per 100,000 population

  • Only one in 10 prisoners has no mental disorder

More statistics on mental health

 

 

 

How many people experience mental health problems?

 

Mental health problems are found in people of all ages, regions, countries and societies.

 

  • 1 in 4 British adults experience at least one diagnosable mental health problem in any one year, and one in six experiences this at any given time.

- The Office for National Statistics Psychiatric Morbidity report (2001)

 

  • Although mental disorders are widespread, serious cases are concentrated among a relatively small proportion of people who experience more than one mental health problem (this is known as ‘co-morbidity’).

- The British Journal of Psychiatry (2005)

 

  • It is estimated that approximately 450 million people worldwide have a mental health problem.

- World Health Organisation (2001)

 

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What are the main types of mental health problems?

 

  • Mixed anxiety & depression is the most common mental disorder in Britain, with almost 9 percent of people meeting criteria for diagnosis.

- The Office for National Statistics Psychiatric Morbidity report (2001)

 

  • Between 8-12% of the population experience depression in any year

- The Office for National Statistics Psychiatric Morbidity report (2001)

 

  • About half of people with common mental health problems are no longer affected after 18 months, but poorer people, the long-term sick and unemployed people are more likely to be still affected than the general population. 

- Better Or Worse: A Longitudinal Study Of The Mental Health

Of Adults In Great Britain, National Statistics (2003)

 

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Who develops mental health problems?

 

  • Women are more likely to have been treated for a mental health problem than men (29% compared to 17%).This could be because, when asked, women are more likely to report symptoms of common mental health problems. 

- Better Or Worse: A Longitudinal Study Of The Mental Health

Of Adults In Great Britain, National Statistics (2003)

 

  • Depression is more common in women than men. 1 in 4 women will require treatment for depression at some time, compared to 1 in 10 men. The reasons for this are unclear, but are thought to be due to both social and biological factors. It has also been suggested that depression in men may have been under diagnosed because they present to their GP with different symptoms.

- National Institute For Clinical Excellence (2003)

 

  • Women are twice as likely to experience anxiety as men. Of people with phobias or OCD, about 60% are female.

- The Office for National Statistics Psychiatric Morbidity report (2001)

 

  • Men are more likely than women to have an alcohol or drug problem. 67% of British people who consume alcohol at ‘hazardous’ levels, and 80% of those dependent on alcohol are male. Almost three quarters of people dependent on cannabis and 69% of those dependent on other illegal drugs are male.

- The Office for National Statistics Psychiatric Morbidity report (2001)

 

  • In general, rates of mental health problems are thought to be higher in minority ethnic groups than in the white population, but they are less likely to have their mental health problems detected by a GP.

- Inside Outside: Improving Mental Health Services For Black

 and Minority Ethnic Communities in England, National

Institute For Mental Health In England (2003)

 

  • One in four unemployed people has a common mental health problem

- The Office for National Statistics Psychiatric Morbidity report (2001)

 

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What about mental health problems among children and young people?

 

  • One in ten children between the ages of one and 15 has a mental health disorder 

- The Office for National Statistics Mental health in children

and young people in Great Britain (2005)

 

  • Estimates vary, but research suggests that 20% of children have a mental health problem in any given year, and about 10% at any one time.

- Lifetime Impacts: Childhood and Adolescent Mental Health, Understanding The Lifetime Impacts, Mental Health

Foundation (2005)

 

  • Rates of mental health problems among children increase as they reach adolescence. Disorders affect 10.4% of boys aged 5-10, rising to 12.8% of boys aged 11-15, and 5.9% of girls aged 5-10, rising to 9.65% of girls aged 11-15

- Mental Disorder More Common In Boys, National Statistics

 Online (2004)

 

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What is the prevalence of mental health problems in older people?

 

  • Depression affects 1 in 5 older people living in the community and 2 in 5 living in care homes.
    - Adults In Later Life with Mental Health Problems, Mental

Health Foundation quoting Psychiatry in the Elderly

(3rd edition) Oxford University Press (2002)

 

  • Dementia affects 5% of people over the age of 65 and 20% of those over 80. About 700,000 people in the UK have dementia (1.2% of the population) at any one time.

 - National Institute For Clinical Excellence (2004)

 

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How common is suicide?

 

  • In 2004, more than 5,500 people in the UK died by suicide

- Samaritans suicide statistics

                          

  • British men are three times as likely as British women to die by suicide.

 - Samaritans Information Resource Pack (2004)

 

  • Suicide remains the most common cause of death in men under the age of 35

- The National Service Framework For Mental Health – Five

Years On, Department Of Health (2005)

 

  • The suicide rate among people over 65 has fallen by 24% in recent years, but is still high compared to the population overall 

- Samaritans Information Resource Pack (2004)

 

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How common is self-harm?

 

  • The UK has one of the highest rates of self harm in Europe, at 400 per 100,000 population.

 - Self-poisoning and self-injury in adults, Clinical Medicine

(2002) cited in Samaritans Self Harm and Suicide 

 

  • People with current mental health problems are 20 times more likely than others to report having harmed themselves in the past.

- National Collaborating Centre For Mental Health

 

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What is the relationship between mental health problems and offending?

  

  • More than 70% of the prison population has two or more mental health disorders. Male prisoners are 14 times more likely to have two or more disorders than men in general, and female prisoners 35 times more likely than women in general

- Social Exclusion Unit (2004) quoting, Psychiatric Morbidity

Among Prisoners In England And Wales, (1998)

 

  • The suicide rate in prisons is almost 15 times higher than in the general population. In 2002 the rate was 143 per 100,0001 compared to 9 per 100,000 in the general population.2

1 The National Service Framework For Mental Health: Five

Years On, Department of Health (2004)

2 Samaritans (2004) Information Resource Pack (2004)

 

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Updated in 2006

 

The Fundamental Facts is our 80 page digest of mental health statistics More information

 

Return to Mental health overview