Mental Health Facts and Figures

·        Mental illness does not discriminate based on race, gender, or socioeconomic status.

·        Over 2.8 million Ohioans – 1 in 4 – have a diagnosable mental illness.

·        Over 550,000 adult Ohioans have a severe mental illness.

·        Roughly 50 percent of individuals with a severe mental illness also are affected by substance abuse.

·        Half of children and two-thirds of adults do not receive treatment for their mental illness.

·        Approximately 1.4 million veterans have a severe mental illness in theUnited States.

·        Fifty percent of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14.

·        Students inOhio with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) for an emotion disturbance have higher drop-out rates and lower graduation rates than other students.

·        Thirty percent of homeless Ohioans have a serious mental illness.

·        Twenty percent of older adults experience mental disorders that are not a part of the normal aging process.

·        Nine percent of adult inmates in Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction have a severe mental illness.

·        Fifty-six percent of youth in the Ohio Department of Youth Services facilities are receiving mental health services and this percentage is increasing.

·        Individuals receiving mental health services stay longer in state correctional facilities than the general population (adults 3 times as long and youth twice as long).

·        2.2 hours are lost per workday by an employee with untreated depression or anxiety.

·        Individuals with a severe mental illness who have at least one hospitalization die on average 32 years younger thanOhio’s general public.

·        Many premature deaths by individuals with a severe mental illness can be prevented because they are due to treatable and preventable physical illnesses.

·        More than 90 percent of individuals who die by suicide have a mental illness, a substance abuse disorder, or a combination of both. 

·        In 2008, 1,402 Ohioans completed suicide.  This equates to more than 3 suicides inOhio every day.

·        Treatment works. People recover.

For more resources and facts see our Useful Resources section.