Almost 59 million US adults reported a mental illness in 2023

Key takeaways:

• Survey shows marijuana is most frequently used illicit drug, while opioid use remained flat vs. the previous year.
• The number of adolescents and adults receiving mental health treatment increased in 2023 over the previous year.

Nearly 23% of U.S. adults — or approximately 58.7 million — reported some type of mental illness during 2023, according to results from a national survey on mental health and substance use released by HHS.

The findings also revealed that 4.5 million youth aged 12 to 17 years had a major depressive episode during the same year.

The results, which come from the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), “provide an opportunity to identify and address unmet health care needs across America,” Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, PhD, HHS assistant secretary for mental health and substance use and leader of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, said in a press release. “We're pleased to see that more people received mental health treatment in 2023 than the previous year.”

NSDUH uses probability sampling to develop nationally representative data on how civilian, noninstitutionalized individuals aged 12 years or older in the United States self-report their experiences with substance use, mental health conditions and their pursuit of treatment.

Other mental health data from the survey showed that 12.8 million individuals had thoughts about suicide (5%), 3.7 million made a suicide plan (1.4%) and 1.5 million made a suicide attempt (0.6%).

Additionally, survey findings revealed multiracial adults as more likely to have suicidal thoughts, any mental illness or serious mental illness compared with adults from other racial or ethnic groups.

Notable substance use findings from the survey included:

• Marijuana was reportedly the most used illicit drug, with 61.8 million people aged 12 years or older using it in the past year.
• Nearly 9 million people misused opioids in the past year, similar to results from surveys in 2022 and 2021.
• Over 45% of the 134.7 million people who used alcohol in 2023 engaged in binge drinking in the past month.
• Last year, 9.4% of people aged 12 or older vaped nicotine in the past month, up from 8.3% in 2022.

However, some progress was observed within treatment for mental health and substance use disorders.

According to the report, 8.3 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 years received mental health treatment in the past year, representing an increase of over 500,000 from 2022.

Meanwhile, 59.2 million adults received mental health treatment in the past year, an increase of 3.4 million from 2022.

One in four — or 12.8 million — individuals who were classified as needing substance use disorder treatment in 2023 received such treatment in the past year.

NSDUH data also showed that 30.5 million adults reported having a substance abuse problem, among whom 73.1% considered themselves to be in recovery or recovered.

References:

• SAMHSA releases annual national survey on drug use and health. https://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/press-announcements/20240730/samhsa-releases-annual-national-survey-drug-use-and-health. Published July 30, 2024. Accessed July 31, 2024.
• 2023 NSDUH annual national report. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2023-nsduh-annual-national-report. Accessed July 31, 2024.