Stress Statistics

Stress Statistics and statistics related to stress related mental disorders are detailed below. Often when we are overwhelmed with stress, depression or anxiety, it’s very easy to feel as if we are totally completely alone and no one understands how we feel. While it is true that we are all unique and thus our pain if unique to us, it’s helpful to know that we are truly not alone and that others have suffered and recovered.

Stress Statistic Links

Anxiety Disorders, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Job Stress, Panic Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Stress and Depression, Stress Statistics APA 2004, Stress Statistics APA 2005

Mood & Mental Disorders Statistics

Agoraphobia, Alzheimer's Disease, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism, Bipolar, Clinical Depression, Dysthymic, Eating Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Schizophrenia, Social Phobia, Specific Phobias, Suicide

Foundation for Integrated Research In Mental Health, 2007.

• Globally, more than 3 out of 5 doctor visits are for stress related problems.
• Globally, 23% of women executives and professionals, and 19% of their male peers, say they feel super-stressed.
  
  

Stress Statistics from American Psychological Association, 2005.

• 43% percent of adults suffer adverse health effects from stress.
• Two-thirds of all office visits to family physicians are due to stress-related symptoms.
• 64% of Americans say they are taking steps to reduce stress in their lives.
• Stress is linked to the six leading causes of death—heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide.
  
  

Statistics from American Psychological Association, 2004.

• Two thirds of Americans say they are likely to seek help for stress. (APA Survey 2004)
• 54% of Americans are concerned about the level of stress in their everyday lives. (APA Survey 2004)

Stress News from Science Daily

Stress Statistics Related to Job & Work Situations, 2004

• 62% of Americans say work has a significant impact on stress levels. (APA Survey 2004)
• A majority of workers (52%) are more stressed because of work than home. (APA Survey 2004)
• 54% of workers are concerned about health problems caused by stress. (APA Survey 2004)
• 45% of workers list job insecurity has a significant impact on work stress levels. (APA Survey 2004)
• 61% of workers list heavy workloads as a significant impact on work stress levels. (APA Survey 2004)
• Executives and managers tend to have the most stressful jobs, while self-employed workers are the least stressed. (APA Survey 2004)
• One in four workers have taken a mental health day off from work to cope with stress. (APA Survey 2004)
• 73% of Americans name money as the number one factor that affects their stress level. (APA Survey 2004)

Stress Statistics related to Depression

• An estimated 121 million people world-wide currently suffer from depression. (World Health Organization)
• Eight to 20 percent of older adults experience symptoms of depression. (Surgeon General’s Report on Mental Health 1999)
• Depression often co-occurs with anxiety disorders and substance abuse. (National Institutes of Mental Health)
• Approximately six million American men suffer from depression. (National Institutes of Mental Health)
• Nearly twice as many American women as men are affected by depression. (National Institutes of Mental Health)
• Approximately 18.8 million American adults have depression. (National Institutes of Mental Health)

The Following Statistics are from the National Institute of Mental Health

Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders include panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and phobias (social phobia, agoraphobia, and specific phobia).

• Approximately 40 million American adults ages 18 and older, or about 18.1 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have an anxiety disorder.
• Anxiety disorders frequently co-occur with depressive disorders or substance abuse.
• Most people with one anxiety disorder also have another anxiety disorder. Nearly three-quarters of those with an anxiety disorder will have their first episode by age 21.5

Panic Disorder

• Approximately 6 million American adults ages 18 and older, or about 2.7 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have panic disorder.
• Panic disorder typically develops in early adulthood (median age of onset is 24), but the age of onset extends throughout adulthood.
• About one in three people with panic disorder develops agoraphobia, a condition in which the individual becomes afraid of being in any place or situation where escape might be difficult or help unavailable in the event of a panic attack.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• Approximately 7.7 million American adults age 18 and older, or about 3.5 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have PTSD.
• PTSD can develop at any age, including childhood, but research shows that the median age of onset is 23 years.
• About 19 percent of Vietnam veterans experienced PTSD at some point after the war.  The disorder also frequently occurs after violent personal assaults such as rape, mugging, or domestic violence; terrorism; natural or human-caused disasters; and accidents.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

• Approximately 6.8 million American adults, or about 3.1 percent of people age 18 and over, have GAD in a given year.
• GAD can begin across the life cycle, though the median age of onset is 31 years old.

Social Phobia

• Approximately 15 million American adults age 18 and over, or about 6.8 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have social phobia.
• Social phobia begins in childhood or adolescence, typically around 13 years of age.

Additional Mood Disorder Statistics from the National Institute of Mental Health.

Mood Disorders

Mood disorders include major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, and bipolar disorder.

• Approximately 20.9 million American adults, or about 9.5 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year, have a mood disorder.
• The median age of onset for mood disorders is 30 years.
• Depressive disorders often co-occur with anxiety disorders and substance abuse.

Major Depressive Disorder

• Major Depressive Disorder is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. for ages 15-44.
• Major depressive disorder affects approximately 14.8 million American adults, or about 6.7 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year.
• While major depressive disorder can develop at any age, the median age at onset is 32.
• Major depressive disorder is more prevalent in women than in men.

Dysthymic Disorder

• Symptoms of dysthymic disorder (chronic, mild depression) must persist for at least two years in adults (one year in children) to meet criteria for the diagnosis. Dysthymic disorder affects approximately 1.5 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year.  This figure translates to about 3.3 million American adults.
• The median age of onset of dysthymic disorder is 31.

Bipolar Disorder

• Bipolar disorder affects approximately 5.7 million American adults, or about 2.6 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year.
• The median age of onset for bipolar disorders is 25 years.

Suicide

• In 2004, 32,439 (approximately 11 per 100,000) people died by suicide in the U.S.
• More than 90 percent of people who kill themselves have a diagnosable mental disorder, most commonly a depressive disorder or a substance abuse disorder.
• The highest suicide rates in the U.S. are found in white men over age 85.
• Four times as many men as women die by suicide; however, women attempt suicide two to three times as often as men.

Schizophrenia

• Approximately 2.4 million American adults, or about 1.1 percent of the population age 18 and older in a given year, have schizophrenia.
• Schizophrenia affects men and women with equal frequency.
• Schizophrenia often first appears in men in their late teens or early twenties. In contrast, women are generally affected in their twenties or early thirties.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

• Approximately 2.2 million American adults age 18 and older, or about 1.0 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have OCD.
• The first symptoms of OCD often begin during childhood or adolescence, however, the median age of onset is 19.

Agoraphobia

Agoraphobia involves intense fear and anxiety of any place or situation where escape might be difficult, leading to avoidance of situations such as being alone outside of the home; traveling in a car, bus, or airplane; or being in a crowded area.

• Approximately 1.8 million American adults age 18 and over, or about 0.8 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have agoraphobia without a history of panic disorder.
• The median age of onset of agoraphobia is 20 years of age.

Specific Phobia

Specific phobia involves marked and persistent fear and avoidance of a specific object or situation.

• Approximately 19.2 million American adults age 18 and over, or about 8.7 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have some type of specific phobia.
• Specific phobia typically begins in childhood; the median age of onset is seven years.

Eating Disorders

The three main types of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder.

• Females are much more likely than males to develop an eating disorder. Only an estimated 5 to 15 percent of people with anorexia or bulimia and an estimated 35 percent of those with binge-eating disorder are male.
• In their lifetime, an estimated 0.5 percent to 3.7 percent of females suffer from anorexia, and an estimated 1.1 percent to 4.2 percent suffer from bulimia.
• Community surveys have estimated that between 2 percent and 5 percent of Americans experience binge-eating disorder in a 6-month period.
• The mortality rate among people with anorexia has been estimated at 0.56 percent per year, or approximately 5.6 percent per decade, which is about 12 times higher than the annual death rate due to all causes of death among females ages 15-24 in the general population.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

• ADHD, one of the most common mental disorders in children and adolescents, also affects an estimated 4.1 percent of adults, ages 18-44, in a given year.
• ADHD usually becomes evident in preschool or early elementary years. The median age of onset of ADHD is seven years, although the disorder can persist into adolescence and occasionally into adulthood.

Autism

• Autism is part of a group of disorders called autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), also known as pervasive developmental disorders. ASDs range in severity, with autism being the most debilitating form while other disorders, such as Asperger syndrome, produce milder symptoms.
• Estimating the prevalence of autism is difficult and controversial due to differences in the ways that cases are identified and defined, differences in study methods, and changes in diagnostic criteria. A recent study reported the prevalence of autism in 3-10 year-olds to be about 3.4 cases per 1000 children.
• Autism and other ASDs develop in childhood and generally are diagnosed by age three.
• Autism is about four times more common in boys than girls. Girls with the disorder, however, tend to have more severe symptoms and greater cognitive impairment.

Alzheimer's Disease

• AD affects an estimated 4.5 million Americans. The number of Americans with AD has more than doubled since 1980.
• AD is the most common cause of dementia among people age 65 and older.
• Increasing age is the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s. In most people with AD, symptoms first appear after age 65. One in 10 individuals over 65 and nearly half of those over 85 are affected.  Rare, inherited forms of Alzheimer’s disease can strike individuals as early as their 30s and 40s.
• From the time of diagnosis, people with AD survive about half as long as those of similar age without dementia.